Voiceless uvular affricate
| Voiceless uvular affricate | |
|---|---|
| q͡χ | |
| Audio sample | |
The voiceless uvular affricate is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨q͡χ⟩.
Features
Features of the voiceless uvular affricate:
- Its manner of articulation is affricate, which means it is produced by first stopping the airflow entirely, then allowing air flow through a constricted channel at the place of articulation, causing turbulence.
- Its place of articulation is uvular, which means it is articulated with the back of the tongue (the dorsum) at the uvula.
- Its phonation is voiceless, which means it is produced without vibrations of the vocal cords. In some languages the vocal cords are actively separated, so it is always voiceless; in others the cords are lax, so that it may take on the voicing of adjacent sounds.
- 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.
- Its airstream mechanism is pulmonic, which means it is articulated by pushing air solely with the intercostal muscles and abdominal muscles, as in most sounds.
Occurrence
| Language | Word | IPA | Meaning | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avar | хъарахъ | [q͡χʰːaˈraq͡χʰː] | 'bush; bushes' | Contrasts with the ejective [q͡χʼː]. | |
| Kabardian | кхъэ | 'grave' | |||
| Klingon | Qo'noS | Kronos | |||
