Voiced labial-velar approximant

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IPA – number	170
IPA – text	w
IPA – image
Entity	w
X-SAMPA	w
Kirshenbaum	w
Sound sample (help·info)

The voiced labiovelar (actually labialized velar) approximant is a type of consonantal sound, used in certain spoken languages, including English. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is w, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is w.

Contents 1 Features 2 In English 3 In other languages 4 See also

[edit] Features

Features of the voiced labialized velar approximant:

• Its manner of articulation is approximant, which means it is produced by bringing one articulator close to another but without the vocal tract being narrowed to such an extent that a turbulent airstream is produced.
• Its place of articulation is labialized velar, which means it is articulated with the back part of the tongue (the dorsum) raised toward the soft palate (the velum) and the lips rounded. Some languages, such as Japanese and perhaps the Northern Iroquoian languages, have a sound typically transcribed as [w] where the lips are compressed (or at least not rounded), which is closer to a true labial-velar consonant. Close transcriptions may avoid the symbol [w] in such cases, or may use the under-rounding diacritic, [w̜].
• Its phonation type is voiced, which means the vocal cords are vibrating during the articulation.
• It is an oral consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth.
• It is a central consonant, which means it is produced by allowing the airstream to flow over the middle of the tongue, rather than the sides.
• The airstream mechanism is pulmonic egressive, which means it is articulated by pushing air out of the lungs and through the vocal tract, rather than from the glottis or the mouth.

[edit] In English

• The voiced labiovelar approximant is used in English, in words such as wit [wɪt] and weather [ˈwɛðɚ].

[edit] In other languages

• Abkhaz: ауаҩы [awaˈɥə], 'human'
• Coptic: ϯⲟⲩ [tiw], 'five'
• Polish: łaska [ˈwaska], 'grace'
• Old English: The sound is written as ƿ.
• Classical Latin used the letter V for this sound.
• Ancient Greek used the letter digamma.
• Belarusian: The letter ў can be pronounced as [w], but is more often realized as the semivowel [u̯].
• Seri: A nasalized labiovelar approximant is the allophone of the phoneme /m/ which occurs following a tautosyllabic velar stop. This phonetic change is apparently quite new (within the last hundred years). Thus the word cmiique /kmiikɛ/ 'Seri person' is pronounced with a nasalized labiovelar approximant following the /k/; the nasalization then spreads to the adjacent vowels.
• In most Romance Languages it is written u before vowels.

[edit] See also

• List of phonetics topics

Consonants (List, table)	See also: IPA, Vowels
Pulmonics Bilabial Lab'den. Dental Alveolar Postalv. Retroflex Palatal Velar Uvular Pharyn. Epiglottal Glottal Non-pulmonics and other symbols Nasals m ɱ n̪ n ɳ ɲ ŋ ɴ Clicks  ʘ ǀ ǃ ǂ ǁ Plosives p b p̪ b̪ t̪ d̪ t d ʈ ɖ c ɟ k ɡ q ɢ ʡ ʔ Implo­­sives  ɓ ɗ ʄ ɠ ʛ Fricatives  ɸ β f v θ ð s z ʃ ʒ ʂ ʐ ç ʝ x ɣ χ ʁ ħ ʕ ʜ ʢ h ɦ Ejec­­tives  pʼ tʼ kʼ qʼ sʼ Approximants  β̞ ʋ ð̞ ɹ ɻ j ɰ Other laterals  ɺ ɫ Trills ʙ r • ʀ • Co-articulated approximants ʍ w ɥ Flaps & Taps ѵ̟ ѵ ɾ ɽ • Co-articulated fricatives ɕ ʑ ɧ Lat. Fricatives ɬ ɮ • • • Affricates  ʦ ʣ ʧ ʤ Lat. Appr'mants l ɭ ʎ ʟ Co-articulated stops  k͡p ɡ͡b ŋ͡m
This page contains phonetic information in IPA, which may not display correctly in some browsers. [Help] Where symbols appear in pairs, the one to the right represents a voiced consonant. Shaded areas denote pulmonic articulations judged impossible.