pronounced as /notice/In phonetics, secondary articulation occurs when the articulation of a consonant is equivalent to the combined articulations of two or three simpler consonants, at least one of which is an approximant. The secondary articulation of such co-articulated consonants is the approximant-like articulation. It "colors" the primary articulation rather than obscuring it. Maledo (2011) defines secondary articulation as the superimposition of lesser stricture upon a primary articulation.
There are several kinds of secondary articulation supported by the International Phonetic Alphabet:
It can sometimes be difficult to distinguish primary and secondary articulation. For example, the alveolo-palatal consonants pronounced as /[ɕ ʑ]/ are sometimes characterized as a distinct primary articulation and sometimes as palatalization of postalveolar fricatives, equivalent to pronounced as /[ʃʲ ʒʲ]/ or pronounced as /[s̠ʲ z̠ʲ]/.
The most common method of transcription in the IPA is to turn the letter corresponding to the secondary articulation into a superscript written after the letter for the primary articulation. For example, the w in (IPA|kʷ) is written after the k. This can be misleading, as it iconically suggests that the pronounced as /[k]/ is released into a pronounced as /[w]/ sound, analogous to (IPA|kˡ kⁿ) ([k] with a lateral and nasal release), when actually the two articulations of pronounced as /[kʷ]/ are generally pronounced more-or-less simultaneously. Secondary articulation often has a strong effect on surrounding vowels, and may have an audible realization that precedes the primary consonant, or both precedes and follows it. For example, pronounced as //akʷa// will not generally sound simply like pronounced as /[akwa]/, but may be closer to pronounced as /[awkwa]/ or even pronounced as /[awka]/. For this reason, the IPA symbols for labialization and palatalization were for a time placed under the primary letter (e.g. (IPA|k̫) for pronounced as /[kʷ]/ and (IPA|ƫ) for pronounced as /[tʲ]/), and a number of phoneticians still prefer such unambiguous usage, with (IPA|kʷ) and (IPA|tʲ) used specifically for off-glides, despite the official policy of the IPA. In the official IPA there remains only an alternative symbol for velarization/pharyngealizaton that is superposed over the primary (e.g. (IPA|ɫ) for dark L), but that has font support for a limited number of consonants and is inadvisable for others, where it can be illegible. A few phoneticians use superscript letters for offglides and subscript letters for simultaneous articulation (e.g. (IPA|tʲ) vs (IPA|tⱼ)).
There is a longstanding tradition in the IPA that one may turn any IPA letter into a superscript, and in so doing impart its features to the base consonant. For instance, pronounced as /[ʃˢ]/ would be an articulation of pronounced as /[ʃ]/ that has qualities of pronounced as /[s]/.[1] However, the features are not necessarily imparted as secondary articulation. Superscripts are also used iconically to indicate the onset or release of a consonant, the on-glide or off-glide of a vowel, and fleeting or weak segments. Among other things, these phenomena include pre-nasalization (pronounced as /[ᵐb]/), pre-stopping (pronounced as /[ᵖm, ᵗs]/), affrication (pronounced as /[tᶴ]/), pre-affrication (pronounced as /[ˣk]/), trilled, fricative, nasal, and lateral release (pronounced as /[tʳ, tᶿ, dⁿ, dˡ]/), rhoticization (pronounced as /[ɑʵ]/), and diphthongs (pronounced as /[aᶷ]/). So, while (IPA|ˠ) indicates velarization of non-velar consonants, it is also used for fricative release of the velar stop ((IPA|ɡˠ)). Mixed consonant-vowels may indicate a transition: pronounced as /[ᵇa]/ may be the allophone of pronounced as //a// with the transition from pronounced as //b// that identifies the consonant, while pronounced as /[fʸ]/ may be the allophone of pronounced as //f// before pronounced as //y//, or the formants of pronounced as //y// anticipated in the pronounced as //f//.
The 2015 edition of the Extensions to the International Phonetic Alphabet formally advocates superscript letters for the first time since 1989, specifically for the release of plosives.[2]