Labiodental consonant
Encyclopedia
In phonetics
, labiodentals are consonant
s articulated
with the lower lip
and the upper teeth.
are:
The IPA symbol ɧ refers to a sound occurring in Swedish
, officially described as similar to the velar
fricative [x], but one dialectal variant is a rounded, velarized labiodental, less ambiguously rendered as [fˠʷ].
are the fricatives and the approximant. The labiodental flap occurs phonemically in over a dozen languages, but it is restricted geographically to central and southeastern Africa (Olson & Hajek 2003). With most other manners of articulation
, the norm are bilabial consonant
s (which together with labiodentals, form the class of labial consonant
s).
[ɱ] is quite common, but in all or nearly all languages in which it occurs, it occurs only as an allophone
of /m/ before labiodental consonants such as /v/ and /f/. It has been reported to occur phonemically in a dialect of Teke
, but similar claims in the past have proven spurious.
The XiNkuna dialect of Tsonga
features a pair of affricates as phonemes. In some other languages, such as Xhosa
, affricates may occur as allophones of the fricatives. These differ from the German
bilabial-labiodental affricate, which commences with a bilabial p
. All these affricates are rare sounds.
The plosives are not confirmed to exist as separate phoneme
s in any language. They are sometimes written as (qp and db ligatures). They may also be found in children's speech or as speech impediments.
Phonetics
Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that comprises the study of the sounds of human speech, or—in the case of sign languages—the equivalent aspects of sign. It is concerned with the physical properties of speech sounds or signs : their physiological production, acoustic properties, auditory...
, labiodentals are consonant
Consonant
In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are , pronounced with the lips; , pronounced with the front of the tongue; , pronounced with the back of the tongue; , pronounced in the throat; and ,...
s articulated
Place of articulation
In articulatory phonetics, the place of articulation of a consonant is the point of contact where an obstruction occurs in the vocal tract between an articulatory gesture, an active articulator , and a passive location...
with the lower lip
Lip
Lips are a visible body part at the mouth of humans and many animals. Lips are soft, movable, and serve as the opening for food intake and in the articulation of sound and speech...
and the upper teeth.
Labiodental consonant in IPA
The labiodental consonants identified by the International Phonetic AlphabetInternational Phonetic Alphabet
The International Phonetic Alphabet "The acronym 'IPA' strictly refers [...] to the 'International Phonetic Association'. But it is now such a common practice to use the acronym also to refer to the alphabet itself that resistance seems pedantic...
are:
| IPA | Description | Example | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Language | Orthography | IPA | Meaning | ||
| p̪ | voiceless labiodental plosive Voiceless labiodental plosive The voiceless labiodental plosive is a consonant sound produced like a [p], but with the lower lip contacting the upper teeth, as in [f]. This can be represented in the IPA as . A separate symbol not recognized by the IPA that is often seen, especially in Bantu linguistics, is the qp ligature '.The... |
||||
| b̪ | voiced labiodental plosive Voiced labiodental plosive The voiced labiodental plosive is a consonant sound produced like a , but with the lower lip contacting the upper teeth, as in . This can be represented in the IPA as . A separate symbol not recognized by the IPA that is often seen, especially in Bantu linguistics, is the db ligature '.The voiced... |
||||
| p̪͡f | voiceless labiodental affricate Voiceless labiodental affricate A voiceless labiodental affricate is a rare affricate consonant that is initiated as a labiodental plosive and released as a voiceless labiodental fricative .... |
Tsonga Tsonga language The Tsonga or Xitsonga language is spoken in southern Africa by the Tsonga people, also known as the Shangaan.- Classification :Tsonga belongs to the Bantu branch of the Niger–Congo languages... |
N/A | [tiɱp̪͡fuβu] | 'hippos' |
| b̪͡v | voiced labiodental affricate Voiceless labiodental affricate A voiceless labiodental affricate is a rare affricate consonant that is initiated as a labiodental plosive and released as a voiceless labiodental fricative .... |
Tsonga Tsonga language The Tsonga or Xitsonga language is spoken in southern Africa by the Tsonga people, also known as the Shangaan.- Classification :Tsonga belongs to the Bantu branch of the Niger–Congo languages... |
N/A | [ʃileb̪͡vu] | 'chin' |
| ɱ | labiodental nasal | English English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria... |
symphony | [ˈsɪɱfəni] | 'symphony' |
| f | voiceless labiodental fricative Voiceless labiodental fricative The voiceless labiodental fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is .-Features:Features of the voiceless labiodental fricative:... |
English English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria... |
fan | [fæn] | 'fan' |
| v | voiced labiodental fricative Voiced labiodental fricative The voiced labiodental fricative is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is v.... |
English English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria... |
van | [væn] | 'van' |
| ʋ | labiodental approximant Labiodental approximant The labiodental approximant is a type of consonantal sound, similar to an English double-u pronounced with the teeth and lips held in the position used to articulate the letter vee, used in some spoken languages... |
Dutch Dutch language Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second... |
wang | [ʋɑŋ] | 'cheek' |
| labiodental flap Labiodental flap -External links:* * *... |
Mono Mono language (Congo) Mono is a language spoken by about 65,000 people in the northwestern corner of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is one of the Banda languages, a subbranch of the Ubangian branch of the Niger–Congo languages... |
vwa | [ⱱa] | 'send' | |
The IPA symbol ɧ refers to a sound occurring in Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
, officially described as similar to the velar
Velar consonant
Velars are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue against the soft palate, the back part of the roof of the mouth, known also as the velum)....
fricative [x], but one dialectal variant is a rounded, velarized labiodental, less ambiguously rendered as [fˠʷ].
Occurrence
The only common labiodental sounds to occur phonemicallyPhoneme
In a language or dialect, a phoneme is the smallest segmental unit of sound employed to form meaningful contrasts between utterances....
are the fricatives and the approximant. The labiodental flap occurs phonemically in over a dozen languages, but it is restricted geographically to central and southeastern Africa (Olson & Hajek 2003). With most other manners of articulation
Manner of articulation
In linguistics, manner of articulation describes how the tongue, lips, jaw, and other speech organs are involved in making a sound. Often the concept is only used for the production of consonants, even though the movement of the articulars will also greatly alter the resonant properties of the...
, the norm are bilabial consonant
Bilabial consonant
In phonetics, a bilabial consonant is a consonant articulated with both lips. The bilabial consonants identified by the International Phonetic Alphabet are:...
s (which together with labiodentals, form the class of labial consonant
Labial consonant
Labial consonants are consonants in which one or both lips are the active articulator. This precludes linguolabials, in which the tip of the tongue reaches for the posterior side of the upper lip and which are considered coronals...
s).
[ɱ] is quite common, but in all or nearly all languages in which it occurs, it occurs only as an allophone
Allophone
In phonology, an allophone is one of a set of multiple possible spoken sounds used to pronounce a single phoneme. For example, and are allophones for the phoneme in the English language...
of /m/ before labiodental consonants such as /v/ and /f/. It has been reported to occur phonemically in a dialect of Teke
Teke languages
The Teke languages are a series of Bantu languages spoken by the Teke people in the western Congo and in Gabon. They are coded Zone B.70 in Guthrie's classification...
, but similar claims in the past have proven spurious.
The XiNkuna dialect of Tsonga
Tsonga language
The Tsonga or Xitsonga language is spoken in southern Africa by the Tsonga people, also known as the Shangaan.- Classification :Tsonga belongs to the Bantu branch of the Niger–Congo languages...
features a pair of affricates as phonemes. In some other languages, such as Xhosa
Xhosa language
Xhosa is one of the official languages of South Africa. Xhosa is spoken by approximately 7.9 million people, or about 18% of the South African population. Like most Bantu languages, Xhosa is a tonal language, that is, the same sequence of consonants and vowels can have different meanings when said...
, affricates may occur as allophones of the fricatives. These differ from the German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
bilabial-labiodental affricate
Voiceless bilabial plosive
The voiceless bilabial plosive is a type of consonantal sound used in many spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is p...
. All these affricates are rare sounds.
The plosives are not confirmed to exist as separate phoneme
Phoneme
In a language or dialect, a phoneme is the smallest segmental unit of sound employed to form meaningful contrasts between utterances....
s in any language. They are sometimes written as (qp and db ligatures). They may also be found in children's speech or as speech impediments.