A voiceless labial–palatal fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound – more accurately called a voiceless labialized palatal fricative[1]– is ⟨çʷ⟩, ⟨çᵝ⟩, or ⟨çᶣ⟩. An actual labial–palatal fricative would be written ⟨ɸ͡ç⟩,[2] but such a doubly articulated sound is unlikely to occur in any language: Ladefoged and Maddieson were unable to confirm that any language has fricatives produced at two places of articulation, as the term "labial–palatal" implies, and doubt that they are possible in ordinary language.[3]
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 secondary articulation is labialized, which means it is articulated with the lips rounded as in a [u] (or in some cases a [y]) sound; the back of the tongue may also be raised toward the velum.
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 that air is not allowed to escape through the nose.
It is a median consonant, which means it is produced by directing the airstream down the midline of the tongue, rather than to the sides.
A voiceless labial–palatal approximant is similar to the fricative but has less turbulence. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents the approximant is ⟨ɥ̊⟩.[5] No known language contrasts the fricative and the approximant.
