Peripheral consonant
In Australian linguistics, the peripheral consonants are a natural class encompassing consonants articulated at the extremes of the mouth: labials and velars. That is, they are the non-coronal consonants. In Australian languages, these consonants pattern together both phonotactically and acoustically. In Arabic and Maltese philology, the moon letters transcribe non-coronal consonants, but they do not form a natural class.
| Bilabial | Velar | |
|---|---|---|
| Stop | p | k |
| Nasal | m | ŋ |
| Approximant | w | |
Phonology
Australian languages typically favour peripheral consonants word- and syllable-initially, and they are not allowed or common word- and syllable-finally, unlike the apicals.
In the extinct Martuthunira, the peripheral stops /p/ and /k/ shared similar allophony. Whereas the other stops could be voiced between vowels or following a nasal, the peripherals were usually voiceless.
See also
- Coronal consonant, the opposite set