Voiceless labial–velar fricative

The voiceless labial–velar fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨⟩ or occasionally ⟨ʍ⟩. The letter ⟨ʍ⟩ was defined as a "voiceless [w]" until 1979,[1] when it was defined as a fricative with the place of articulation of [k͡p] the same way that [w] is an approximant with the place of articulation of [ɡ͡b].[2] The IPA Handbook describes ⟨ʍ⟩ as a "fricative" in the introduction (IPA 1999: ix) while a chapter within characterizes it as an "approximate" (IPA 1999: 136).

Voiceless labial–velar fricative
ʍ
IPA Number169
Audio sample
Encoding
Entity (decimal)ʍ
Unicode (hex)U+028D
X-SAMPAW
Braille⠖ (braille pattern dots-235)⠺ (braille pattern dots-2456)

Some linguists posit voiceless approximants distinct from voiceless fricatives. To them, English /ʍ/ is an approximant [w̥],[3] a labialized glottal fricative [hʷ], or an [hw] sequence, not a velar fricative.[4] Scots /ʍ/ has been described as a velar fricative,[5] especially in older Scots, where it was [xw].[6] Other linguists believe that a "voiceless approximant" is a contradiction in terms, and so [w̥] must be the same as [xʷ]. Ladefoged and Maddieson were unable to confirm that any language has fricatives produced at two places of articulation, like labial and velar.[7] They conclude that "if it is a fricative, it is better described as a voiceless labialized velar fricative".[8]

Features

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Features of the voiceless labial–velar fricative:

Occurrence

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Family Language Word IPA Meaning Notes
Eskimo-Aleut Aleut[9] Atkan hwax̂ [ʍaχ] 'smoke'
Bering ʼЎ
Celtic Cornish SWF hwi [ʍi] 'you all'
Germanic English Conservative Received Pronunciation[10] whine [ʍaɪ̯n] 'whine' English /ʍ/ is generally a labio-velar fricative or approximant.[4] It is usually represented phonemically as /hw/, but phonetically there is not a sequence of [h] plus [w] (see English phonology). In General American[11] and New Zealand English[12] only some speakers maintain a distinction with /w/; in Europe, mostly heard in Irish and Scottish accents.[10] See English phonology and phonological history of wh.
Cultivated South African[13]
Conservative General American[11]
Irish[13][14] [ʍʌɪ̯n]
Scottish[13][15][16]
Southern American[17] [ʍäːn]
New Zealand[12][15][18] [ʍɑe̯n]
Athabaskan Hupa[19] xwe꞉y [xʷeːj] 'his property' A voiceless labialized velar fricative.
Sino-Tibetan Kham Gamale Kham ह्वा [ʍɐ] 'tooth' Described as an approximant.[20]
Salishan Lushootseed dʔiyb [dxʷʔib] 'Newhalem, Washington'
Salishan Shuswap secwepemctsín [ʃəxʷəpəməxˈtʃin] 'Shuswap language'
Slavic Slovene[21][22] vse [ˈʍsɛ] 'everything' Allophone of /ʋ/ in the syllable onset before voiceless consonants, in free variation with a vowel [u]. Voiced [w] before voiced consonants.[21][22] See Slovene phonology.
Isolate Washo Wáʔi [ˈxʷaʔi] or [ˈw̥aʔi] 'he's the one who's doing it' Variously described as a labialized velar fricative or a voiceless approximant.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Association phonétique internationale (1952). "The International Phonetic Alphabet (revised to 1951)". Le Maître Phonétique. Troisième série. 30 (97). Front matter. JSTOR 44748475.
  2. ^ International Phonetic Association (1978). "The International Phonetic Alphabet (Revised to 1979)". Journal of the International Phonetic Association. 8 (1–2). Supplement. JSTOR 44541414.
  3. ^ For instance, Lyle Campbell (2020) Historical Linguistics, 4th edition, page xxii.
  4. ^ a b Ladefoged (2006), p. 68.
  5. ^ International Phonetic Association (1999), p. 22.
  6. ^ Johnston (1997), pp. 499, 510.
  7. ^ Ladefoged & Maddieson (1996), pp. 330–2.
  8. ^ Ladefoged & Maddieson (1996), p. 326.
  9. ^ Головко, Е. В. (1994). Словарь алеутско-русский и русско-алеутский (беринговский диалект) [Aleut-Russian and Russian-Aleut Dictionary (Bering dialect)]. Отд-ние изд-ва "Просвещение". p. 14. ISBN 978-5-09-002312-2.
  10. ^ a b "Received Pronunciation Phonology".
  11. ^ a b Rogers (2000), p. 120.
  12. ^ a b Rogers (2000), p. 117.
  13. ^ a b c Lass (2002), p. 121.
  14. ^ Wells (1982), p. 432.
  15. ^ a b McMahon (2002), p. 31.
  16. ^ Wells (1982), p. 408.
  17. ^ Labov, Ash & Boberg (2006).
  18. ^ Wells (1982), p. 610.
  19. ^ Golla, Victor (1996). "Hupa Language Dictionary Second Edition". Retrieved Oct 31, 2021.
  20. ^ Wilde (2016).
  21. ^ a b Šuštaršič, Komar & Petek (1999), p. 136.
  22. ^ a b Greenberg (2006), p. 18.

References

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