Voiced labial–palatal approximant
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A voiced labial–palatal (or labio-palatal) approximant is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages, for example, French {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, read as [ɥitjɛm]. It has two constrictions in the vocal tract: with the tongue on the palate, and rounded at the lips. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is Template:Angbr IPA, a [[turned h|rotated lowercase letter Template:Angbr]].
A labial–palatal approximant can in many cases be considered the semivocalic equivalent of the close front rounded vowel {{#invoke:IPA|main}}. They alternate with each other in certain languages, such as French, and in the diphthongs of some languages, Template:Angbr IPA and Template:Angbr IPA with the non-syllabic diacritic are used in different transcription systems to represent the same sound. Sometimes,<ref>See e.g. Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> Template:Angbr IPA is written in place of Template:Angbr IPA, even though the former symbol denotes an extra-short Template:IPAblink in the official IPA.
Some languages, though, have a palatal approximant that is unspecified for rounding, and therefore cannot be considered the semivocalic equivalent of either {{#invoke:IPA|main}} or its unrounded counterpart Template:IPAblink. An example of such a language is Spanish, in which a labialized palatal approximant (non-semivowel) appears allophonically with back vowels in words such as ayuda {{#invoke:IPA|main}} ('help'), while unrounded elsewhere, such as ayer {{#invoke:IPA|main}} ('yesterday'). Therefore, according to some sources, it is not correct to transcribe this sound with the symbol Template:Angbr IPA, which has a different kind of rounding, or with a modified Template:Angbr IPA, which according to the same sources cannot be rounded at all; the only suitable transcription is Template:Angbr IPA.Template:Sfnp See palatal approximant for more information.
Template:AnchorThere is also a labialized post-palatal approximant<ref name="post-palatal">Instead of "post-palatal", it can be called "retracted palatal", "backed palatal", "palato-velar", "pre-velar", "advanced velar", "fronted velar" or "front-velar". For simplicity, this article uses only the term "post-palatal".</ref> in some languages, which is articulated slightly more back compared with the place of articulation of the prototypical labialized palatal approximant, though not as back as the prototypical labialized velar approximant. It can be considered the semivocalic equivalent of the close central rounded vowel {{#invoke:IPA|main}}. The International Phonetic Alphabet does not have a separate symbol for that sound, though it can be transcribed as Template:Angbr IPA (a retracted Template:Angbr IPA), Template:Angbr IPA (centralized Template:Angbr IPA), Template:Angbr IPA (advanced Template:Angbr IPA), or Template:Angbr IPA (centralized Template:Angbr IPA). These symbols may be used separately to distinguish compressed (exolabial) and protruded (endolabial) rounding, as in Template:Angbr IPA vs Template:Angbr IPA or Template:Angbr IPA vs Template:Angbr IPA. Other possible transcriptions include Template:Angbr IPA (a centralized and labialized Template:Angbr IPA) and Template:Angbr IPA (a non-syllabic Template:Angbr IPA). The para-IPA symbols Template:Angbr IPA (barred Template:Angbr IPA) may also be used for the exolabial and endolabial variants of the post-palatal approximant respectively,<ref>L2/24-171: Miscellaneous historical and para-IPA modifier letters</ref> and are pending Unicode support as of 2025.<ref>Unicode Pipeline, 2025</ref>
Especially in broad transcription, a labialized post-palatal approximant may be transcribed as a palatalized and labialized velar approximant Template:Angbr IPA.Template:Cn
Compressed palatal approximant
A compressed palatal approximant is typically transcribed in IPA simply as Template:Angbr IPA, and that is the convention used in this article. There is no dedicated diacritic for compression in the IPA. However, the compression of the lips can be shown with the letter Template:IPAalink as Template:Angbr IPA (simultaneous {{#invoke:IPA|main}} and labial compression) or Template:Angbr IPA ({{#invoke:IPA|main}} modified with labial compression). The spread-lip diacritic Template:Angbr IPA may also be used with a labialized approximant letter Template:Angbr IPA (or Template:Angbr IPA) as an ad hoc symbol, though technically 'spread' means unrounded.
A compressed post-palatal approximant<ref name="post-palatal"/> can be transcribed simply as Template:Angbr IPA (centralized {{#invoke:IPA|main}}), and that is the convention used in this article. Other possible transcriptions include Template:Angbr IPA (centralized {{#invoke:IPA|main}} modified with labial compression), Template:Angbr IPA (centralized {{#invoke:IPA|main}} with the spread-lip diacritic), and the para-IPA Template:Angbr IPA (barred Template:Angbr IPA).
Features
Features of the compressed palatal approximant:
- Its place of articulation is palatal and in addition it is endo-labialized, which is accomplished by raising the body of the tongue toward the palate while approximating the lips.
Template:Voiced Template:Oral Template:Central articulation Template:Pulmonic
Occurrence
Because a labialized palatal approximant is assumed to have compression, and few descriptions cover the distinction, some examples in the table below may actually have protrusion.
| Language | Word | IPA | Meaning | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abkhaz | ауаҩы | main}} | 'human' | See Abkhaz phonology | |
| Breton | Gwenedeg | lang}} | main}} | 'escapade' | Realization of /w/ before front vowels. |
| Chinese | Mandarin | lang}} / {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} | main}} | 'moon' | See Mandarin phonology |
| ShanghaineseTemplate:Sfnp | lang}} / yoq | main}} | 'bath' | main}} before rounded vowels.Template:Sfnp | |
| English | Bay IslandsTemplate:Sfnp | lang}} | main}} | 'will' | main}} or {{#invoke:IPA|main}} that only occurs before /i/ or /ɪ/. See Bay Islands English#Phonology. |
| French | lang}} | Template:Audio-IPA | 'to harm' | main}} or {{#invoke:IPA|main}} in Belgian French. See French phonology | |
| Iaai | vëk | main}} | 'four' | main}}. | |
| KhamTemplate:Sfnp | Gamale Kham | lang}} | main}} | 'husband' | |
| Korean | Gyeonggi | lang}} / {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} | main}} | 'Take it easy' | main}}. See Korean phonology |
| Kurdish | lang}} | main}} | 'back' | See Kurdish phonology | |
| Norwegian | Urban EastTemplate:Sfnp | lang}} | main}} | 'dualism' | main}}.Template:Sfnp May be transcribed with Template:Angbr IPA or simply Template:Angbr IPA. See Norwegian phonology |
| ShipiboTemplate:Sfnp | Template:Example needed | main}} before {{#invoke:IPA|main}}. Only lightly labialized.Template:Sfnp | |||
| Occitan | lang}} | main}} | 'night' | See Occitan phonology | |
| Swedish | Central Standard | lang}} | Template:Audio-IPA | 'ugly' | main}} ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}); can be a fricative instead. Palatal in the Central Standard variety, post-palatal in some other varieties. See Swedish phonology |
| Upper SorbianTemplate:Sfnp | lang}} | main}} | 'I know' | Soft counterpart of Template:IPAslink.Template:Sfnp | |
| Xumi | LowerTemplate:Sfnp | {{#invoke:IPA|main}} | 'fang' | Allophone of {{#invoke:IPA|main}} when preceded by an (alveolo-)palatal initial and/or followed by one of the front vowels {{#invoke:IPA|main}} (in Upper Xumi also {{#invoke:IPA|main}}).Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp | |
| UpperTemplate:Sfnp | {{#invoke:IPA|main}} | 'to ask' | |||
Protruded palatal approximant
As there are no diacritics in the IPA to distinguish protruded and compressed rounding, an old diacritic for labialization, Template:Angbr IPA, will be used here as an ad hoc symbol for the protruded palatal approximant. Another possible transcription is Template:Angbr IPA or Template:Angbr IPA (a palatal approximant modified by endolabialization).
Acoustically, this sound is between the more typical compressed palatal approximant {{#invoke:IPA|main}} and a non-labialized palatal approximant Template:IPAblink.
A protruded post-palatal approximant<ref name="post-palatal"/> can be transcribed simply as Template:Angbr IPA (centralized {{#invoke:IPA|main}}). Other possible transcriptions include Template:Angbr IPA (centralized {{#invoke:IPA|main}} modified with endolabialization), Template:Angbr IPA (centralized {{#invoke:IPA|main}} with labialization), and the para-IPA Template:Angbr IPA (barred Template:Angbr IPA).
Features
Features of a protruded palatal approximant:
- Its place of articulation is labial–palatal, which is accomplished by raising the body of the tongue toward the palate while approximating the lips.
Template:Voiced Template:Oral Template:Central articulation Template:Pulmonic
Occurrence
| Language | Word | IPA | Meaning | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norwegian | Urban EastTemplate:Sfnp | lang}} | Template:Nowrap | 'cyanide' | main}}.Template:Sfnp See Norwegian phonology |
| Spanish | lang}} | main}} | 'help' | main}} before and between rounded vowels. May be a fricative {{#invoke:IPA|main}} in emphatic speech. See Spanish phonology | |
Notes
References
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