Voiceless labial–velar fricative

A voiceless labial–velar fricative, sometimes analyzed as a voiceless labial–velar approximant, is a type of consonantal sound, used in spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is Template:Angbr IPA, or occasionally Template:Angbr IPA. The letter Template:Angbr IPA was defined as a "voiceless Template:IPAblink" until 1979,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> when it was defined as a fricative with the place of articulation of Template:IPAblink the same way that {{#invoke:IPA|main}} is an approximant with the place of articulation of Template:IPAblink.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The IPA Handbook describes Template:Angbr IPA as a "fricative" in the introduction,<ref>IPA 1999: ix</ref> while a chapter within characterizes it as an "approximant".<ref>IPA 1999: 136</ref>

There was once some controversy over whether a voiceless approximant could be distinct from a fricative,Template:Sfnp but more recent research distinguishes between turbulent (fricative-like) and laminar (vowel- or approximant-like) airflow in the vocal tract.Template:Sfnp English {{#invoke:IPA|main}} is an approximant {{#invoke:IPA|main}},<ref>For instance, Lyle Campbell (2020) Historical Linguistics, 4th edition, page xxii.</ref> a labialized glottal fricative {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, or an {{#invoke:IPA|main}} sequence, not a velar fricative.Template:Sfnp Scots {{#invoke:IPA|main}} has been described as a velar fricative,Template:Sfnp especially in older Scots, where it was {{#invoke:IPA|main}}.Template:Sfnp Ladefoged and Maddieson were unable to confirm that any language has fricatives produced at two places of articulation, like labial and velar.Template:Sfnp They conclude that "if [ʍ] is a fricative, it is better described as a voiceless labialized velar fricative".Template:Sfnp

Features

Features of a voiceless labial–velar fricative:

Occurrence

Family	Language		Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Eskimo-Aleut	Aleut<ref name="Golovko1994">Template:Cite book</ref>	Atkan	lang}}	{{#invoke:IPA|main}}	'smoke'
		Bering	lang}}
Celtic	Cornish	SWF	lang}}	main}}	'you all'
Germanic	English	Conservative Received Pronunciation<ref name="britishlibrary"/>	whine	{{#invoke:IPA|main}}	'whine'	English {{#invoke:IPA|main}} is generally a labio-velar fricative or approximant.Template:Sfnp It is usually represented phonemically as {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, but phonetically there is not a sequence of Template:IPAblink plus {{#invoke:IPA|main}} (see English phonology). In General AmericanTemplate:Sfnp and New Zealand EnglishTemplate:Sfnp only some speakers maintain a distinction with {{#invoke:IPA|main}}; in Europe, mostly heard in Irish and Scottish accents.<ref name="britishlibrary">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref> See English phonology and phonological history of wh.
		Cultivated South AfricanTemplate:Sfnp
		Conservative General AmericanTemplate:Sfnp
		IrishTemplate:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp		{{#invoke:IPA|main}}
		ScottishTemplate:SfnpTemplate:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp
		Southern AmericanTemplate:Sfnp		main}}
		New ZealandTemplate:SfnpTemplate:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp		main}}
Athabaskan	Hupa<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation		CitationClass=web }}</ref>	lang}}	main}}	'his property'	A voiceless labialized velar fricative.
Sino-Tibetan	Kham	Gamale Kham	lang}}	main}}	'tooth'	Described as an approximant.Template:Sfnp
Northwest Caucasian	Kabardian		lang}}	Template:Audio-IPA	'five'	In Adyghe, it is pronounced Template:IPAblink.
Iranian	Kurdish	Kurmanji (Northern)	lang}} / Template:Transliteration	main}}	'sister'
		Kalhori (Southern)	lang}} / Template:Transliteration	main}}	'nice'
Salishan	Lushootseed		lang}}	main}}	'Newhalem, Washington'
Iranian	Persian	Classical Persian	lang}} / Template:Transliteration	main}}	'to want'	In modern standard dialects of Persian, the pronunciation has evolved to a simple Voiceless velar fricative (Template:IPAblink) sound.
Salishan	Shuswap		lang}}	main}}	'Shuswap language'
Slavic	SloveneTemplate:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp		lang}}	main}}	'everything'	Allophone of Template:IPAslink in the syllable onset before voiceless consonants, in free variation with a vowel Template:IPAblink. Voiced Template:IPAblink before voiced consonants.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp See Slovene phonology.
Romance	Spanish	Fast speech	juego	main}}	'game'	More commonly [xw]. See Spanish phonology
Washo (isolate)			lang}}	main}} or {{#invoke:IPA|main}}	'he's the one who's doing it'	Variously described as a labialized velar fricative or a voiceless approximant.

See also

• Index of phonetics articles
• Hwair
• Wh (digraph)
• Wine–whine merger

References

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External links

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