Palatal approximant

Palatal approximant
j
IPA number	153
Encoding
Entity (decimal)	j
Unicode (hex)	U+006A
X-SAMPA	j
Kirshenbaum	j
Braille
Sound

The voiced palatal approximant is a type of consonantal sound used in many spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨j⟩. The equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is j, or equivalently, i_^, and in the Americanist phonetic notation it is ⟨y⟩. Because the name of the letter jay may be confusing when used to refer to this sound, the palatal approximant is sometimes called yod instead.

In the writing systems used for most of the languages of Central, Northern and Eastern Europe, the letter j denotes the palatal approximant, as in German Jahr 'year'. This is the IPA usage, and although it may be counter-intuitive for English speakers, it does occur with this sound in a few English words, such as hallelujah and Jägermeister.

In linguistics, the palatal approximant is sometimes called after the Semitic letter yod, as in the phonological history terms yod-dropping and yod-coalescence.

In Ancient Greek grammar, the palatal approximant, which was lost early in the history of Greek, is sometimes written as ι̯ (iota with the inverted breve below, the non-syllabic diacritic or marker of a semivowel).^{[citation needed]}

Features

Features of the palatal 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 palatal, which means it is articulated with the middle or back part of the tongue raised to the hard 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.

Occurrence

Language		Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Adyghe		ятӀэ	[ jatʼa]	'dirt'
Arabic	Standard	يوم	[ jawm]	'day'	See Arabic phonology
Armenian	Eastern	յուղ	[juʁ]	'fat'
Afrikaans		ja	[jaː]	'yes'
Azerbaijani		yuxu	[juxu]	'dream'
Basque		bai	[baj]	'yes'
Bulgarian		майка mayka	[ˈmajkɐ]	'mother'
Catalan		seient	[səˈjen]	'seat'	See Catalan phonology
Chechen		ялх / yalx	[ jalx]	'six'
Chinese	Cantonese	日 jat9	[ jɐt˨ʔ]	'day'	See Cantonese phonology
	Mandarin	一 yī	[ ji˥]	'one'	See Mandarin phonology
Corsican		ghjesgia	[ˈjeːʒa]	'church'	Also occurs in the Gallurese dialect
Czech		je	[ jɛ]	'is'	See Czech phonology
Danish		jeg	[ jä]	'I'	See Danish phonology
Dutch		jaar	[ˈjäːr]	'year'	See Dutch phonology
English		you	[ juː]	'you'	See English phonology
Esperanto		jaro	[ jaro]	'year'	See Esperanto phonology
Finnish		jalka	[ˈjɑlkɑ]	'leg'	See Finnish phonology
French		yeux	[ jø]	'eyes'	See French phonology
German		Joch	[ jɔx]	'yoke'	See German phonology
Hebrew		ילד	[ˈjeled]	'boy'	See Modern Hebrew phonology
Hungarian		játék	[ jaːteːk]	'game'	See Hungarian phonology
Kabardian		йи	[ ji]	'game'
Irish		ghearrfadh	[ˈjɑːɾˠhəx]	'would cut'	See Irish phonology
Italian		ione	[ˈjone]	'ion'	See Italian phonology
Japanese		やく yaku	[ jaku͍]	'to bake'	See Japanese phonology
Korean		야구 yagu	[ˈjaːɡu]	'baseball'	See Korean phonology
Macedonian		крај	[kraj]	'end'	See Macedonian phonology
Malay		sayang	[sajaŋ]	'love'
Marathi		यश	[jəʃ]	'success'
Norwegian		jul	[ jʉːl]	'Christmas'	See Norwegian phonology
Polish		jutro	[ˈjut̪rɔ]	'tomorrow'	See Polish phonology
Portuguese	All dialects	bóia	[ˈbɔj.jɐ]	'buoy', 'float'	Allophone of both /i/ and /ʎ/, as well as a very common epenthetic sound before coda sibilants in some dialects. Brazilian dialects that have [ɪ] prefer [ɪ̯] when in coda position. See Portuguese phonology
	Some dialects	os olhos	[ujˈzɔju]	'the eyes'
Romanian		iar	[ jar]	'again'	See Romanian phonology
Russian		я ya	[ ja]	'I'	See Russian phonology
Spanish		viuda	[ˈbjuð̞ä]	'widow'	Allophone of both /i/ and /ʝ/. See Spanish phonology
Swedish		jag	[ˈjɑːɡ]	'I'	See Swedish phonology
Turkish		yol	[ joɫ]	'way'	See Turkish phonology
Turkmen		ýüpek	[jypek]	'silk'
Ubykh		[ajəwʃqʼa]		'you did it'	See Ubykh phonology
Ukrainian		їжак, jižak	[ jiˈʒɑk]	'hedgehog'	See Ukrainian phonology
Vietnamese		de	[ jɛ]	'cinnamon'	Southern dialect. Corresponds to northern /z/. See Vietnamese phonology
West Frisian		jas	[ jɔs]	'coat'
Zapotec	Tilquiapan	yan	[ jaŋ]	'neck'

See also

• Voiceless palatal approximant
• Palatal lateral approximant
• Nasal palatal approximant
• List of phonetics topics

Bibliography

• Carbonell, Joan F.; Llisterri, Joaquim (1992), "Catalan", Journal of the International Phonetic Association 22 (1–2): 53–56, doi:10.1017/S0025100300004618 
• Dum-Tragut, Jasmine (2009), Armenian: Modern Eastern Armenian, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company 
• Jassem, Wiktor (2003), "Polish", Journal of the International Phonetic Association 33 (1): 103–107, doi:10.1017/S0025100303001191 
• Martínez-Celdrán, Eugenio; Fernández-Planas, Ana Ma.; Carrera-Sabaté, Josefina (2003), "Castilian Spanish", Journal of the International Phonetic Association 33 (2): 255–259, doi:10.1017/S0025100303001373 
• Merrill, Elizabeth (2008), "Tilquiapan Zapotec", Journal of the International Phonetic Association 38 (1): 107–114, doi:10.1017/S0025100308003344 
• Ó Sé, Diarmuid (2000), Gaeilge Chorca Dhuibhne, Dublin: Institiúid Teangeolaíochta Éireann, ISBN 0-946452-97-0  (Irish)
• Rogers, Derek; d'Arcangeli, Luciana (2004), "Italian", Journal of the International Phonetic Association 34 (1): 117–121, doi:10.1017/S0025100304001628 
• Thelwall, Robin; Sa'Adeddin, M. Akram (1990), "Illustrations of the IPA: Arabic", Journal of the International Phonetic Association 20 (2): 37–41, doi:10.1017/S0025100300004266