Voiceless Labial-velar Fricative

The voiceless labiovelar approximant (traditionally called a '''voiceless labiovelar fricative''') is a type of Consonant al sound, used in some Spoken Language s. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is W.

Doubly articulated fricatives are very difficult to pronounce, and none has been confirmed of any language. is generally called a "fricative" for historical reasons, but in English, the language that the symbol is primarily used for, it is a voiceless approximant, equivalent to . On rare occasions the symbol is appropriated for a labialized velar fricative, .

FEATURES

Features of the voiceless labial-velar approximant:

Its Manner Of Articulation is Approximant , which means it is produced by constricting air flow through a channel at the place of articulation that is not narrow enough to cause Turbulence .

Its Place Of Articulation is Labialized Velar , which means it is articulated with the back part of the Tongue (the dorsum) raised toward the Soft Palate (the velum) and the Lip s Rounded .

Its Phonation type is voiceless, which means it is produced without vibrations of the vocal cords.

It is an Oral Consonant , which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth.

It is a Central Consonant , which means it is produced by allowing the airstream to flow over the middle of the tongue, rather than the sides.

The Airstream Mechanism is Pulmonic Egressive , which means it is articulated by pushing air out of the Lung s and through the vocal tract, rather than from the Glottis or the mouth.

IN ENGLISH

The voiceless labial-velar approximant occurs in some English dialects that distinguish between the words ''whine'' And ''wine'' ; it is the sound denoted by the letters 'wh'. In other dialects which maintain this distinction the letters 'wh' represent the consonant cluster /hw/.

SEE ALSO

List Of Phonetics Topics

Hwair

Wine-whine Merger

Information About ®

Voiceless Labial-velar Fricative

Information About ^{^®}