Labialization Explained

Above:Labialized
Ipa Symbol:◌ᵝ
Above:Labial(-velar)ized with protrusion
Ipa Symbol:◌ʷ

Labialization is a secondary articulatory feature of sounds in some languages. Labialized sounds involve the lips while the remainder of the oral cavity produces another sound. The term is normally restricted to consonants. When vowels involve the lips, they are called rounded.

The most common labialized consonants are labialized velars. Most other labialized sounds also have simultaneous velarization, and the process may then be more precisely called labio-velarization. The "labialization" of bilabial consonants often refers to protrusion instead of a secondary articulatory feature velarization. [pʷ] doesn't mean [pˠ] although [w] refers to a labial–velar approximant.

In phonology, labialization may also refer to a type of assimilation process.

Occurrence

Labialization is the most widespread secondary articulation in the world's languages. It is phonemically contrastive in Northwest Caucasian (e.g. Adyghe), Athabaskan, and Salishan language families, among others. This contrast is reconstructed also for Proto-Indo-European, the common ancestor of the Indo-European languages; and it survives in Latin and some Romance languages. It is also found in the Cushitic and Ethio-Semitic languages.

American English labializes pronounced as //r, ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ// to various degrees.

A few languages, including Arrernte and Mba, have contrastive labialized forms for almost all of their consonants.

In many Salishan languages, such as Klallam, velar consonants only occur in their labialized forms (except /k/, which occurs in some loanwords). However, uvular consonants occur abundantly labialized and unrounded.

Types

Above:Open-labialized
Ipa Symbol:◌ꟹ

Out of 706 language inventories surveyed by, labialization occurred most often with velar (42%) and uvular (15%) segments and least often with dental and alveolar segments. With non-dorsal consonants, labialization may include velarization as well. Labialization is not restricted to lip-rounding. The following articulations have either been described as labialization or been found as allophonic realizations of prototypical labialization:

Eastern Arrernte has labialization at all places and manners of articulation; this derives historically from adjacent rounded vowels, as is also the case of the Northwest Caucasian languages. Marshallese also has phonemic labialization as a secondary articulation at all places of articulation except for labial consonants and coronal obstruents.

In North America, languages from a number of families have sounds that sound labialized (and vowels that sound rounded) without the participation of the lips. See Tillamook language for an example.

Prelabialization

In Slovene, sounds can be prelabialized. Furthermore, the change is phonemic and all phonemes have prelabialized pairs (though not all of their allophones can have pairs). Compare 'stand' pronounced as /[ˈs̪t̪àːt̪í]/ and 'stand up' pronounced as /[ˈʷs̪t̪àːt̪í]/. The prelabialization part, however, is usually not considered as being part of the same phoneme as prelabialized sound, but rather as an allophone of pronounced as //ʋ// as it changes depending on the environment, e. g. 'take' pronounced as /[ˈʷz̪èːt̪í]/ and 'summarize' pronounced as /[pou̯ˈz̪èːt̪í]/. See Slovene phonology for more details.

Transcription

In the International Phonetic Alphabet, labialization of velar consonants is indicated with a raised w modifier pronounced as /[ʷ]/ (Unicode U+02B7), as in pronounced as //kʷ//. (Elsewhere this diacritic generally indicates simultaneous labialization and velarization.) There are also diacritics, respectively pronounced as /[ɔ̹], [ɔ̜]/, to indicate greater or lesser degrees of rounding.[2] These are normally used with vowels but may occur with consonants. For example, in the Athabaskan language Hupa, voiceless velar fricatives distinguish three degrees of labialization, transcribed either pronounced as //x/, /x̹/, /xʷ// or pronounced as //x/, /x̜ʷ/, /xʷ//.

The extensions to the IPA has two additional symbols for degrees of rounding: Spread pronounced as /[ɹ͍]/ and open-rounded pronounced as /[ʒꟹ]/ (as in English). It also has a symbol for labiodentalized sounds, pronounced as /[tᶹ]/.[3]

If precision is desired, the Abkhaz and Ubykh articulations may be transcribed with the appropriate fricative or trill raised as a diacritic: pronounced as /[tᵛ]/, pronounced as /[tᵝ]/, pronounced as /[t<sup>ʙ</sup>]/, pronounced as /[tᵖ]/.

For simple labialization, resurrected an old IPA symbol, pronounced as /[&nbsp;̫]/,[4] which would be placed above a letter with a descender such as pronounced as /ɡ/. However, their chief example is Shona sv and zv, which they transcribe pronounced as //s̫// and pronounced as //z̫// but which actually seem to be whistled sibilants, without necessarily being labialized.[5] Another possibility is to use the IPA diacritic for rounding, distinguishing for example the labialization in English soon pronounced as /[s̹]/ and pronounced as /[sʷ]/ swoon.[6] The open rounding of English pronounced as //ʃ// is also unvelarized.

Assimilation

Labialization also refers to a specific type of assimilatory process where a given sound become labialized due to the influence of neighboring labial sounds. For example, pronounced as //k// may become pronounced as //kʷ// in the environment of pronounced as //o//, or pronounced as //a// may become pronounced as //o// in the environment of pronounced as //p// or pronounced as //kʷ//.

In the Northwest Caucasian languages as well as some Australian languages rounding has shifted from the vowels to the consonants, producing a wide range of labialized consonants and leaving in some cases only two phonemic vowels. This appears to have been the case in Ubykh and Eastern Arrernte, for example. The labial vowel sounds usually still remain, but only as allophones next to the now-labial consonant sounds.

List of labialized consonants

type! width="28%"
PhoneIPALanguages
Stopsplainprotruded voiceless bilabial stopChaha, Paha
protruded voiced bilabial stop
labzd voiceless alveolar stopArchi, Abkhaz, Lao, Paha, Ubykh
labzd voiced alveolar stopArchi, Abkhaz, Ubykh
labzd voiceless velar stopAbaza, Abkhaz, Adyghe, Halkomelem, Kabardian, Taos, Chipewyan, Hadza, Gwichʼin, Tlingit, Akan, Nez Perce, Archi, Cantonese, Wariʼ, Chaha, Dahalo, Hausa, Igala, Igbo, Lao, Latin, Nahuatl, Nawat, Okinawan, Ossetic, Paha, Portuguese, Thai, Tigrinya, Hiw, Ubykh, Bearlake Slavey, Breton
labzd voiced velar stopAbaza, Abkhaz, Adyghe, Akan, Archi, Chaha, Dahalo, Hausa, Okinawan, Oowekyala, Ossetic, Hadza, Igala, Igbo, Gwichʼin, Kabardian, Paha, Portuguese, Tigrinya, Ubykh, Breton, Yoruba
labzd voiceless uvular stopAbaza, Abkhaz, Adyghe, Kabardian, Ossetic, Paha, Tlingit, Nez Perce, Ubykh
labzd pharyngealized voiceless uvular stoppronounced as /[qˤʷ]/Archi, Ubykh
labzd voiced uvular stopOowekyala, Kwak'wala, Tsakhur
labzd glottal stopAdyghe, Kabardian, Lao, Tlingit
labzd prenasalized voiced bilabial plosivepronounced as /[ᵐbʷ]/Tamambo
Labial–velarprotruded voiceless labio–velar stoppronounced as /[k͡pʷ]/Dorig, Mwotlap
protruded prenasalized voiced labial–velar stoppronounced as /[ᵑɡ͡bʷ]/Volow
Affricatessibilantlabzd voiceless alveolar affricateAdyghe, Archi, Lezgian, Tsakhur
labzd voiced alveolar affricateAdyghe, Dahalo
labzd voiceless palato-alveolar affricateArchi, Abaza, Adyghe, Paha, Aghul, German
labzd voiced palato-alveolar affricateAbaza, Aghul, Tsakhur, German
labzd voiceless alveolo-palatal affricatepronounced as /[t͡ɕʷ]/Abkhaz, Akan, Ubykh
labzd voiced alveolo-palatal affricatepronounced as /[d͡ʑʷ]/Abkhaz, Akan, Ubykh
non-sibilantlabzd voiceless velar affricateNavajo
labzd voiceless uvular affricateKabardian, Lillooet
laterallabzd voiceless velar lateral affricateArchi
Fricativessibilantlabzd voiceless alveolar sibilantArchi, Lao, Lezgian
labzd voiced alveolar sibilantArchi, Tsakhur, Lezgian
labzd voiceless palato-alveolar sibilantArchi, Abaza, Abkhaz, Adyghe, Paha, Aghul, Ubykh
labzd voiced palato-alveolar sibilantArchi, Abaza, Abkhaz, Adyghe, Aghul, Ubykh
labzd voiceless retroflex sibilantBzhedug
labzd voiced retroflex sibilantBzhedug
labzd voiceless alveolo-palatal sibilantAbkhaz, Ubykh
labzd voiced alveolo-palatal sibilantAbkhaz, Ubykh
non-sibilantprotruded voiceless bilabial fricativepronounced as /[ɸʷ]/Okinawan
protruded voiced bilabial fricativepronounced as /[βʷ]/Tamambo
labzd voiceless labiodental fricativeHadza, Chaha
labzd voiced labiodental fricative
labzd voiceless dental fricativePaha
labzd voiced dental fricativePaha
labzd voiceless palatal fricativeAkan
labzd voiceless velar fricativeAbaza, Adyghe, Avestan, Chaha, Halkomelem, Kabardian, Oowekyala, Taos, Navajo, Tigrinya, Lillooet, Tlingit
labzd voiced velar fricativeAbaza, Navajo, Lillooet, Gwichʼin, possibly Proto-Indo-European
labzd voiceless uvular fricativeAbkhaz, Adyghe, Archi, Halkomelem, Kabardian, Lillooet, Tlingit, Wariʼ, Chipewyan, Oowekyala, Ossetic, Ubykh
labzd pharyngealized voiceless uvular fricativepronounced as /[χˤʷ]/Abkhaz, Archi, Ubykh
labzd voiced uvular fricativeAbkhaz, Adyghe, Chipewyan, Kabardian, Ubykh
labzd pharyngealized voiced uvular fricativepronounced as /[ʁˤʷ]/Archi, Ubykh
labzd voiceless pharyngeal fricativeAbaza, Abkhaz
labzd voiced pharyngeal fricativeAbaza, Lillooet
Pseudo-fricativeslabzd voiceless glottal fricativeAkan, Tlingit, Tsakhur
Lateral fricatives labzd voiceless alveolar lateral fricativeDahalo
labzd voiceless velar lateral fricativeArchi
Nasalsprotruded bilabial nasalAdyghe, Chaha, Paha, Tamambo
labzd palatal nasalpronounced as /[ɲʷ]/Akan
labzd velar nasalpronounced as /[ŋʷ]/Akan, Avestan, Lao, Hiw, Igala
protruded labial-velar nasalpronounced as /[ŋ͡mʷ]/Dorig, Mwotlap
Approximantslabzd alveolar lateral approximantLao
labzd labiodental approximantpronounced as /[ʋʷ]/Russian
labialized palatal approximantpronounced as /[ɥ]/ Abkhaz, Akan, French, Mandarin, Paha
Labio-velar approximant (voiced)pronounced as /[ɰᵝ]/in Japanese
Protruded labio-velar approximant (voiced)pronounced as /[ɰʷ]/widespread; in every above-mentioned language, as well as e.g. Arabic, English, Korean, Vietnamese
Voiceless labio-velar approximantpronounced as /[ʍ]/certain dialects of English
nasal labialized velar approximantpronounced as /[w̃]/Polish, Portuguese
labzd postalveolar approximantpronounced as /[ɹ̠ʷ]/many dialects of English
Ejectivesprotruded bilabial ejectiveAdyghe
labzd alveolar ejectiveAbkhaz, Adyghe, Ubykh
labzd velar ejectiveAbaza, Abkhaz, Adyghe, Archi, Bearlake Slavey, Chipewyan, Halkomelem, Kabardian, Ossetic, Tlingit, Ubykh
labzd palato-alveolar ejective fricativeAdyghe
labzd uvular ejectiveAbaza, Abkhaz, Archi, Halkomelem, Hakuchi, Tlingit, Ubykh
labzd pharyngealized uvular ejectivepronounced as /[qˤʷʼ]/Archi, Ubykh
labzd alveolar ejective affricatepronounced as /[t͡sʷʼ]/Archi, Khwarshi
labzd alveolar lateral ejective affricatepronounced as /[t͡ɬʷʼ]/Khwarshi
labzd palato-alveolar ejective affricatepronounced as /[t͡ʃʷʼ]/Abaza, Archi, Khwarshi
labzd alveolo-palatal ejective affricatepronounced as /[t͡ɕʷʼ]/Abkhaz, Ubykh
labzd retroflex ejective affricatepronounced as /[ʈ͡ʂʷʼ]/allophonic in Adyghe
labzd velar lateral ejective affricatepronounced as /[k͡ʟ̝̊ʷʼ]/Archi
labzd velar ejective fricativepronounced as /[xʷʼ]/Tlingit
labzd uvular ejective fricativepronounced as /[χʷʼ]/Tlingit

See also

Bibliography

pronounced as /navigation/

Notes and References

  1. Book: Annual Review of Anthropology. 1977. 9780824319069. Siegel . Bernard J. . Annual Reviews Incorporated .
  2. As a mnemonic, the more-rounded diacritics resemble the rounded vowel (IPA|ɔ).
  3. Book: International Phonetic Association. 1999. Handbook of the International Phonetic Association: A Guide to the Use of the International Phonetic Alphabet. Cambridge University Press. 190. 978-0-52163751-0.
  4. This is not a subscript w but originally a subscript omega that "recalls the letter w" (Jespersen & Pedersen, 1926, Phonetic Transcription and Transliteration: Proposals of the Copenhagen Conference, April 1925. Oxford University Press).
  5. See http://www.cefala.org/issp2006/cdrom/articles/shosted.pdf.
  6. John Esling (2010) "Phonetic Notation", in Hardcastle, Laver & Gibbon (eds) The Handbook of Phonetic Sciences, 2nd ed.