alveolar, alveolar ridge: pronounced on the alveolar ridge, which is the "bumpy" part of the roof of the mouth immediately behind the upper front teeth. Alveolar consonants are almost always apicals. (See the diagrams of the principal organs of articulation and places of articulation.) The t of English is alveolar; the Spanish t, in contrast, is dental. See place of articulation. [Spanish: alveolar, alvéolos]