x (Pinyin) ɕ (IPA)

Voiceless alveolo-palatal sibilant
the voiceless alveolo-palatal fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in some oral languages. the symbol in the international phonetic alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨ɕ⟩ (cee with the curl also found in its voiced counterpart ⟨ʑ⟩).

"Voiceless alveolo-palatal sibilant (vector)" by Lfdder - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikipedia. "Alveolopalatal fricative" by Alveolopalatal_fricative.png: Ishwarderivative work: TyIzaeL - Alveolopalatal_fricative.png. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Features of the voiceless alveolo-palatal fricative:

• Its manner of articulation is sibilant fricative, which means it is generally produced by channeling air flow along a groove in the back of the tongue up to the place of articulation, at which point it is focused against the sharp edge of the nearly clenched teeth, causing high-frequency turbulence.
• Its place of articulation is alveolo-palatal. This means that:
  • Its place of articulation is postalveolar, meaning that the tongue contacts the roof of the mouth in the area behind the alveolar ridge (the gum line).
  • Its tongue shape is laminal, meaning that it is the tongue blade that contacts the roof of the mouth.
  • It is heavily palatalized, meaning that the middle of the tongue is bowed and raised towards the hard palate.
• Its phonation is voiceless, which means it is produced without vibrations of the vocal cords. In some languages the vocal cords are actively separated, so it is always voiceless; in others the cords are lax, so that it may take on the voicing of adjacent sounds.
• It is an oral consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth only.
• It is a central consonant, which means it is produced by directing the airstream along the center of the tongue, rather than to the sides.
• The airstream mechanism is pulmonic, which means it is articulated by pushing air solely with the lungs and diaphragm, as in most sounds.