S͎

s͎ (an s with an upward-pointing arrow beneath it) is a symbol used in the Extensions to the International Phonetic Alphabet to represent a whistled version of the voiceless alveolar fricative [s].[1][2]

Occurrences in language

Few languages include this sound as a linguistic phoneme, and data about the extent of its use is limited. It has been documented primarily in some Southern Bantu languages in Sub-Saharan Africa (specifically the Shona and Tswa-Ronga language groups). Some authors have proposed that the sound also occurs in the Tabasaran language in the Caucasus, and Shehri language in Oman, but this is disputed.[3]

In the Shona language, [s͎] is represented orthographically by sv, as in the name of Morgan Tsvangirai. The key acoustic differences between the whistled [s͎] and the non-whistled [s] are that [s͎] has a secondary spectral peak at approximately 3 kHz, and a narrower spectral peak bandwidth.[3]

Occurrences in disordered speech

Whistling also occurs as an undesired occurrence when attempting to make a non-whistled sibilant in languages without whistled sibilants. The same symbol is used, as part of the extIPA, to transcribe speech that erroneously contains a whistle. This can occur for various reasons, including orthodontic prostheses.[3]

Unicode

s͎ is represented in Unicode by an s and U+034E (Combining Upwards Arrow Below).

References

  1. ^ "extIPA Symbols for Disordered Speech (Revised to 2015)" (PDF). International Phonetic Association. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  2. ^ "extIPA Symbols for Disordered Speech (Revised to 2025)". International Clinical Linguistics and Phonetic Association. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  3. ^ a b c Shosted, Ryan (2006). "Just put your lips together and blow? The whistled fricatives of Southern Bantu" (PDF). UC Berkeley PhonLab Annual Report.
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