Both retroflex (i.e., apical postalveolar) sounds and palatoalveolar (i.e., laminal postalveolar) sounds cover a wide range of articulatory areas. In some South Asian languages the retroflex consonants involve only the tip of the tongue and the back of the alveolar ridge, whereas in others there is contact between a large part of the underside of the tongue tip and much of the forward part of the hard palate.