Voiceless labiodental approximant
| Voiceless labiodental approximant | |
|---|---|
| ʋ̥ | |
| f̞ | |
| IPA Number | 150 402A |
| Audio sample | |
| Encoding | |
| X-SAMPA | P_0 or v\_0 or f_o |
The voiceless labiodental approximant is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. The symbols in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represent this sound are ⟨ʋ̥⟩ and ⟨f̞⟩, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbols are P_0 (or v\_0) and f_o.
The voiceless labiodental approximant is the typical realization of /f/ in the Indian South African variety of English. As the voiced /v/ is also realized as an approximant ([ʋ]), it is also an example of a language contrasting voiceless and voiced labiodental approximants.[1]
Features
Features of the voiceless labiodental 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 labiodental, which means it is articulated with the lower lip and the upper teeth.
- 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.
- Because the sound is not produced with airflow over the tongue, the central–lateral dichotomy does not apply.
- 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | Indian South African[1] | [[[English orthography|fair]]] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) | [ʋ̥eː] | 'fair' | Corresponds to a fricative [f] in other accents. |
References
- ^ a b Mesthrie (2004), p. 960.
Bibliography
- Mesthrie, Rajend (2004), "Indian South African English: phonology", in Schneider, Edgar W.; Burridge, Kate; Kortmann, Bernd; Mesthrie, Rajend; Upton, Clive (eds.), A handbook of varieties of English, vol. 1: Phonology, Mouton de Gruyter, pp. 953–963, ISBN 3-11-017532-0
