Velar approximant
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(Redirected from ɰ)
Not to be confused with the Armenian letter պ.
| Velar approximant | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ɰ | |||
| ɣ˕ | |||
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| IPA number | 154 | ||
| Encoding | |||
| Entity (decimal) | ɰ |
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| Unicode (hex) | U+0270 | ||
| X-SAMPA | M\ |
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| Kirshenbaum | j<vel> |
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| Sound | |||
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The velar approximant is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨ɰ⟩. It is the semivocalic counterpart of the close back unrounded vowel [ɯ]
The IPA symbol ⟨ɣ⟩, which otherwise signifies a voiced velar fricative, is more commonly used for the velar approximant than ⟨ɰ⟩ is, with a lowering diacritic ⟨ɣ˕⟩ when specificity is required.[1]
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[edit] Features
Features of the velar approximant:
- Its manner of articulation is approximant, which means it is produced by narrowing the vocal tract at the place of articulation, but not enough to produce a turbulent airstream.
- Its place of articulation is velar, which means it is articulated with the back of the tongue at the soft palate.
- Its phonation is voiced, which means the vocal cords vibrate during the articulation.
- It is an oral consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth only.
- It is a central consonant, which means it is produced by directing the airstream along the center of the tongue, rather than to the sides.
- The airstream mechanism is pulmonic, which means it is articulated by pushing air solely with the lungs and diaphragm, as in most sounds.
[edit] Occurrence
| Language | Word | IPA | Meaning | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cherokee | ᏩᏥ/wa-tsi | [ɰatsi] | 'watch' | also represented by Ꮺ, Ꮻ, Ꮼ, Ꮽ, and Ꮾ | |
| Guaraní | gyresia | [ˈɰɨɾesia] | 'Greece' | Contrasts with [w]. | |
| Icelandic | saga | [ˈsaɣa] | 'saga' | See Icelandic phonology | |
| Irish | naoi | [n̪ˠɰiː] | 'nine' | Occurs only between broad consonants and front vowels. See Irish phonology | |
| Korean | 의사/uisa | [ɰi.sä] | 'doctor' | Occurs only before /i/. See Korean phonology | |
| Spanish[2] | pagar | [päˈɣäɾ] | 'to pay' | Intervocalic allophone of /ɡ/. See Spanish phonology | |
The sound in Japanese denoted by <w> is often described as unrounded but is actually pronounced with lip compression and is therefore labio-velar, albeit with acoustic differences from other labio-velar consonants.
[edit] Notes
[edit] References
- Martínez-Celdrán, Eugenio; Fernández-Planas, Ana Ma.; Carrera-Sabaté, Josefina (2003), "Castilian Spanish", Journal of the International Phonetic Association 33 (2): 255–259
