Omaha fricative set

[Rory M Larson]

Bryan wrote:
> One thing I recall reading in a
> typology text (and the reason for the use of the language
> "distributed" as opposed to "apical") is that languages which
> distinguish /s/ from /s^/ always tend to distinguish an apical
> pronunciation (in which the articulator-site contact area is small)
> from a distributed pronunciation (in which the same area is large). If
> this is not true for OP, then OP would be a typological rarity, on the
> same level as certain Indo-Aryan languages with a three-way
> distinction among alveolar fricatives!

So does this mean that in English /s/ is "apical" and /s^/ is
"distributed"?  I think I'd agree that the articulator-site contact area
for /s/ is small, and for /s^/ is large, in the way I form them.  But
doesn't the term "apical" refer to the tip of something, rather than the
size of the articulator-site contact area?  I assumed it meant a sound made
with the tip of the tongue.  For me, both /s/ and /s^/ are made with the
tip or leading edge of the tongue, or maybe the top of the leading margin
for /s/.

Rory
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