Velar ejective fricative
 |
| Velar ejective fricative | |
|---|---|
| xʼ | |
| Audio sample | |
The velar ejective fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨xʼ⟩.
Features
Features of the velar ejective fricative:
- Its manner of articulation is fricative, which means it is produced by constricting air flow through a narrow channel at the place of articulation, causing turbulence.
- Its place of articulation is velar, which means it is articulated with the back of the tongue (the dorsum) at the soft palate.
- 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.
- The airstream mechanism is ejective (glottalic egressive), which means the air is forced out by pumping the glottis upward.
Occurrence
| Language | Word | IPA | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tlingit | xʼáaxʼ | 'apple' | ||
| Chiwere | x^aⁿ | [xʼã] | 'life' |
