Voiceless labial–velar fricative explained

Above:Voiceless labial–velar fricative
Ipa Symbol:ʍ
Ipa Symbol2:
Ipa Number:169
Decimal1:653
X-Sampa:W
Kirshenbaum:w
Imagefile:IPA Unicode 0x028D.svg
Braille:!
Braille2:w

The voiceless labial–velar fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is (IPA|xʷ) or occasionally (IPA|ʍ). The letter (IPA|ʍ) was defined as a voiceless pronounced as /[w̥]/ until 1979, when it was defined as a fricative with the place of articulation of pronounced as /[k͡p]/ the same way that pronounced as /[w]/ is an approximant with the place of articulation of pronounced as /[ɡ͡b]/. However, the IPA Handbook treats it as both a "fricative" (IPA 1999: ix).

Some linguists posit voiceless approximants distinct from voiceless fricatives. To them, English pronounced as //ʍ// is an approximant pronounced as /[w̥]/,[1] a labialized glottal fricative pronounced as /[hʷ]/, or an pronounced as /[hw]/ sequence, not a velar fricative. Scots pronounced as //ʍ// has been described as a velar fricative, especially in older Scots, where it was pronounced as /[xw]/. Other linguists believe that a "voiceless approximant" is a contradiction in terms, and so pronounced as /[w̥]/ must be the same as pronounced as /[xʷ]/. Ladefoged and Maddieson were unable to confirm that any language has fricatives produced at two places of articulation, like labial and velar. They conclude that "if it is a fricative, it is better described as a voiceless labialized velar fricative".

Features

Features of the voiceless labial–velar fricative:

Occurrence

FamilyLanguageWordIPAMeaningNotes
Eskimo-AleutAleut[2] Atkanhwax̂pronounced as /[ʍaχ]/'smoke'
BeringʼЎ
CelticCornishSWFpronounced as /[ʍi]/'you all'
GermanicEnglishConservative Received Pronunciationwhinepronounced as /[ʍaɪ̯n]/'whine'English pronounced as //ʍ// is generally a labio-velar fricative or approximant. It is usually represented phonemically as /hw/, but phonetically there is not a sequence of [h] plus [w] (see English phonology). In General American and New Zealand English only some speakers maintain a distinction with pronounced as //w//; in Europe, mostly heard in Irish and Scottish accents.[3] See English phonology and phonological history of wh.
Cultivated South African
Conservative General American
Irishpronounced as /[ʍʌɪ̯n]/
Scottish
Southern Americanpronounced as /[ʍäːn]/
New Zealandpronounced as /[ʍɑe̯n]/
AthabaskanHupa[4] Hupa: xwe꞉ypronounced as /[xʷeːj]/'his property'A voiceless labialized velar fricative.
Sino-TibetanKhamGamale Khampronounced as /[ʍɐ]/'tooth'Described as an approximant.
SalishanLushootseedd'''xʷ'''ʔiybpronounced as /[dxʷʔib]/'Newhalem, Washington'
SalishanShuswapse'''cw'''epemctsínpronounced as /[ʃəxʷəpəməxˈtʃin]/'Shuswap language'
SlavicSlovenevsepronounced as /[ˈʍsɛ]/'everything'Allophone of pronounced as //ʋ// in the syllable onset before voiceless consonants, in free variation with a vowel pronounced as /link/. Voiced pronounced as /link/ before voiced consonants. See Slovene phonology.
IsolateWashoWasho: '''W'''áʔipronounced as /[ˈxʷaʔi]/ or pronounced as /[ˈw̥aʔi]/'he's the one who's doing it'Variously described as a labialized velar fricative or a voiceless approximant.

See also

External links

pronounced as /navigation/

Notes and References

  1. For instance, Lyle Campbell (2020) Historical Linguistics, 4th edition, page xxii.
  2. Book: Головко, Е. В. . Словарь алеутско-русский и русско-алеутский (беринговский диалект) . 1994 . 978-5-09-002312-2 . 14 . Отд-ние изд-ва "Просвещение" . Aleut-Russian and Russian-Aleut Dictionary (Bering dialect).
  3. Web site: Received Pronunciation Phonology.
  4. Web site: Golla . Victor . Hupa Language Dictionary Second Edition . 1996 . Oct 31, 2021.