Voiceless labio-velar approximant
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| Voiceless labio-velar approximant | |||
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| ʍ | |||
| w̥ | |||
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| IPA number | 169 | ||
| Encoding | |||
| Entity (decimal) | ʍ |
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| Unicode (hex) | U+028D | ||
| X-SAMPA | W |
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| Kirshenbaum | w<vls> |
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| Sound | |||
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The voiceless labiovelar approximant (traditionally called a voiceless labiovelar fricative) is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨ʍ⟩, a rotated lowercase letter ⟨w⟩, or ⟨w̥⟩.
[ʍ] is generally called a "fricative" for historical reasons, but in English, the language that the symbol ʍ is primarily used for, it is a voiceless approximant, equivalent to [w̥] or [hw̥]. On rare occasions the symbol is appropriated for a voiceless labialized velar fricative, [xʷ], in other languages.
[edit] Features
Features of the voiceless labial-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 labialized velar, which means it is articulated with the back part of the tongue raised toward the soft palate (the velum) while rounding the lips.
- Its phonation 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 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cornish | whath, hwath | [ʍæːθ] | 'still', 'yet' | Is represented as ⟨wh⟩ and ⟨hw⟩ in the Standard Written Form, as ⟨wh⟩ in Kernowek Standard, Unified Cornish, Unified Cornish Revised and Modern Cornish, and ⟨hw⟩ in Kernewek Kemmyn. | |
| English | Scottish English | whine | [ʍʌɪn] | 'whine' | Phonemically /hw/. Contrasts with /w/. See English phonology and phonological history of wh |
| Some Southern American dialects | [ʍaːn] | ||||
| Nahuatl | Cuauhtēmallān | [kʷaʍteːmalːaːn] | 'Guatemala' | Is an allophone of /w/ before all voiceless consonants | |
