The alveolar lateral ejective affricate is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨t͡ɬʼ⟩ (or ⟨tɬʼ⟩), and in Americanist phonetic notation it is ⟨ƛ’⟩ (lambda bar).
Features of the alveolar lateral ejective affricate:
Its manner of articulation is affricate, which means it is produced by first stopping the airflow entirely, then allowing air flow through a constricted channel at the place of articulation, causing turbulence.
Its place of articulation is alveolar, which means it is articulated with either the tip or the blade of the tongue at the alveolar ridge, termed respectively apical and laminal.
Its phonation is voiceless, which means it is produced without vibrations of the vocal cords.
It is an oral consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth only.
It is a lateral consonant, which means it is produced by directing the airstream over the sides of the tongue, rather than down the middle.
The airstream mechanism is ejective (glottalic egressive), which means the air is forced out by pumping the glottis upward.
Proto-Semitic *ṣ́ is believed to have been an alveolar lateral ejective affricate.
