Understanding Palatal and Nonpalatal Structures in the Mouth

Palatal refers to the hard palate, which is the bony structure that separates the nasal cavity from the oral cavity. Nonpalatal refers to anything that is not located on or related to the hard palate.

For example, the teeth in the front of the mouth are called incisors, and they are not considered palatal because they are not located on the hard palate. The teeth on the top of the mouth, on the other hand, are called canines, and some of them may be considered palatal if they are located on the hard palate.

In linguistics, nonpalatal refers to sounds or speech patterns that do not involve the hard palate. For example, the "k" and "g" sounds in English are nonpalatal because they are produced without touching the hard palate. In contrast, the "t" and "d" sounds are palatal because they involve contact with the hard palate.