 Spanish and are denti-alveolar, while and are prototypically alveolar but assimilate to the place of articulation of a following consonant.Likewise, Italian , , , are denti-alveolar (, , , and respectively) and and become denti-alveolar before a following dental consonant.Although denti-alveolar consonants are often described as dental, it is the point of contact farthest to the back that is most relevant, defines the maximum acoustic space of resonance and gives a characteristic sound to a consonant.