Labialized velar consonant
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A labialized velar or labiovelar is a
labialized voiced velar plosive [ɡʷ], obstruents being common among the sounds that undergo labialization.[1]
Labialized velar approximants
The most common labiovelar consonant is the voiced approximant [w]. It is normally a labialized velar, as is its vocalic cousin [u]. (Labialization is called
rounding in vowels, and a velar place is called back
.)
[w] and its voiceless equivalent are the only labialized velars with dedicated IPA symbols:
IPA | Description | Example | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Language | Orthography | IPA | Meaning | ||
Voiceless labialized velar approximant
|
English | which | [ʍɪtʃ]1 | 'which' | |
Labio-velar approximant
|
witch | [wɪtʃ] | 'witch' |
- 1 - In dialectsthat distinguish between which and witch.
The voiceless approximant is traditionally called a "voiceless labial–velar fricative", but true doubly articulated fricatives are not known to be used in any language, as they are quite difficult to pronounce and even more difficult to distinguish.
Historical development
Labialized velars frequently derive from a plain velar followed by a
Satsuma dialect
of Japanese: in northern Satsuma, Standard Japanese [kue] 'eat!' has contracted to [kʷe]; in southern Satsuma, it has proceeded further to [pe].
A notable development is the initial *kʷ in
kw for qu (as in kwik
) echoes its origin.
See also
- Co-articulated consonant
- Doubly articulated consonant
- Voiced bilabial fricative
- Voiceless bilabial fricative
References
- Wikidata Q98962682