Mine is probably [ɬ]. From the moment I learned about it, I thought it was a super satisfying sound, though I haven't used it in the conlang I'm currently tinkering with (Hip'alŭk'). However, I've recently gained a strong liking for [ç], which is in Hip'alŭk' as an allophone of /h/ (in fact, it's in the name: [çiˈɸalʊkʰ]).
this post was submitted on 27 Dec 2023
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Can't really say why, but English "sh" has been the most audibly pleasing consonant to me for a while now. It feels mild and "comfy" while still being clear and distinctive. Almost like if you put a soft-light filter on "s".
Side-topic, I'm definitely early days of learning proper IPA. I believe I'm talking about ʃ. But when do you use /stuff/ vs [stuff]? And any tips/recommendations for where to start on learning more? I listen to this one YouTube channel that's been pretty helpful but not sure where to start beyond that.
Yeah, English "sh" (which, yes, is [ʃ]) is a really nice sound. In general, I like fricatives and affricates made in that general area of the mouth.
In response to your side noteː
- [] is phonetic transcription, used for exact sounds. For example, I say the English words "kin" and "skin" like [kʰɪn] and [skɪn]. This transcription can vary between dialects. For example, I say Latin like [læʔn̩], whereas someone else might say it like [latʰɪn].
- // is for phonemic transcription, used for phonemes. A phoneme is sort of a set of sounds that distinguishes words from each other. For example, "cat" and "bat" are seperated by the phonemes /k/ and /b/. You can't swap the consonants without changing the meaning, so they're said to be distinct phonemes. A phoneme can have several different realizations — for example, /k/ can be [k] like in "skin" or [kʰ] like in "kin" — but these variants aren't used to distinguish words. Thus, they're said to be allophones of a single phoneme.
As for resources, I don't fully remember how I went about learning IPA, but I'd recommend these old videos by Artifexian on place of articulation, manner of articulation, and voicing (the three main elements of any consonant in the IPA), as well as his video on vowels.
The voiced pharyngeal approximant/fricative [ʕ], though it does compete heavily with the voiceless alveolo-palatal fricative [ɕ]. In the former case I really love the mouth feel, while in the latter case I love how it sounds more than all the other sibilant fricatives. Unfortunately, I am somehow unable to pronounce the former's voiceless version [ħ].