The voiced velar approximant is a type of
consonant
In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are and pronounced with the lips; and pronounced with the front of the tongue; and pronounced wit ...
al sound, used in some
spoken language
Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...
s. The symbol in the
International Phonetic Alphabet
The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is an alphabetic system of phonetic transcription, phonetic notation based primarily on the Latin script. It was devised by the International Phonetic Association in the late 19th century as a standa ...
that represents this sound is , and the equivalent
X-SAMPA symbol is
M\
.
The consonant is not present in English, but approximates to the sound of a 'g' with the throat kept open, or like making a 'w' sound without the lips touching. The voiced velar approximant can in many cases be considered the
semivocalic counterpart of the
close back unrounded vowel . and with the non-syllabic diacritic are used in different
transcription
Transcription refers to the process of converting sounds (voice, music etc.) into letters or musical notes, or producing a copy of something in another medium, including:
Genetics
* Transcription (biology), the copying of DNA into RNA, the fir ...
systems to represent the same sound.
In some languages, such as
Spanish, the voiced velar approximant appears as an allophone of – see
below
Below may refer to:
*Earth
*Ground (disambiguation)
*Soil
*Floor
*Bottom (disambiguation)
Bottom may refer to:
Anatomy and sex
* Bottom (BDSM), the partner in a BDSM who takes the passive, receiving, or obedient role, to that of the top or ...
.
The symbol for the velar approximant originates from , but with a vertical line. Compare and for the
labio-palatal approximant
A labio-palatalized sound is one that is simultaneously labialized and palatalized. Typically the roundedness is compressed, like , rather than protruded like . The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet for this secondary articulation is ...
.
Features
Features of the voiced velar approximant:
The most common type of this approximant is ''glide'' or ''semivowel''. The term ''glide'' emphasizes the characteristic of movement (or 'glide') of from the vowel position to a following vowel position. The term ''semivowel'' emphasizes that, although the sound is vocalic in nature, it is not 'syllabic' (it does not form the nucleus of a syllable). For a description of the ''approximant consonant'' variant used e.g. in Spanish, see below.
Occurrence
Pre-velar
Voiced velar bunched approximant
Some languages have a velar approximant that is produced with the body of the tongue bunched up at the velum and simultaneous
pharyngealization
Pharyngealization is a secondary articulation of consonants or vowels by which the pharynx or epiglottis is constricted during the articulation of the sound.
IPA symbols
In the International Phonetic Alphabet, pharyngealization can be indicated ...
. This gives rise to a type of
retroflex
A retroflex ( /ˈɹɛtʃɹoːflɛks/), apico-domal ( /əpɪkoːˈdɔmɪnəl/), or cacuminal () consonant is a coronal consonant where the tongue has a flat, concave, or even curled shape, and is articulated between the alveolar ridge and the ha ...
resonance resembling . The
extension to the IPA recommends the use of the "centralized" diacritic combined with the IPA sign for the
alveolar approximant (as in ) to distinguish the bunched realization from the prototypical apical , which may be specified as . Typically, the diacritic is omitted, so that the sound is transcribed simply with or (in broader transcriptions: ), as if it were a
coronal consonant
Coronals are consonants articulated with the flexible front part of the tongue. Among places of articulation, only the coronal consonants can be divided into as many articulation types: apical (using the tip of the tongue), laminal (using the bla ...
.
In ordinary IPA, this sound can be transcribed with or , depending on whether it can be
labialized (see below). This captures pharyngealization (uncommon in velar approximants) but not bunching of the tongue, which can be transcribed by adding a superscript retroflex approximant: , (see ).
In Dutch, this type of ''r'' is called 'Gooi ''r. It is named after
het Gooi
The Gooi () is an area around Hilversum, in the centre of the Netherlands. It is a slightly hilly area characterised by its green landscape, its historical charm, the wealth of its inhabitants, and its villas. The Gooi is known in the Netherlan ...
, a region of the Netherlands where
Hilversum
Hilversum () is a city and municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. Located in the heart of the Gooi, it is the largest urban centre in that area. It is surrounded by heathland, woods, meadows, lakes, and smaller towns. Hilvers ...
(the main centre for television and radio broadcasting) is located.
Features
Features of the voiced velar bunched approximant:
The body of the tongue is bunched up at the velum, rather than just approaching it as it is the case with the prototypical velar approximant.
Occurrence
Relation with and
Some languages have a voiced velar approximant that is unspecified for rounding, and therefore cannot be considered the semivocalic equivalent of either or its rounded counterpart . Examples of such languages are
Catalan
Catalan may refer to:
Catalonia
From, or related to Catalonia:
* Catalan language, a Romance language
* Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia
Places
* 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...
,
Galician and
Spanish, in which the approximant ''consonant'' (not ''semivowel'') unspecified for rounding appears as an allophone of .
Eugenio Martínez Celdrán describes the voiced velar approximant consonant as follows:
There is a parallel problem with transcribing the
palatal approximant
The voiced palatal approximant, or yod, is a type of consonant used in many spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is . The equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is j, and in the Americanist phonetic no ...
.
The symbol may not display properly in all browsers. In that case, should be substituted. In broader transcriptions,
[See e.g. .] the
lowering diacritic may be omitted altogether, so that the symbol is rendered , i.e. as if it represented the corresponding fricative.
The velar bunched approximant is typically written with or (in broader transcriptions: ), none of which capture its place of articulation. The prototypical , and are all unspecified for rounding like .
See also
*
Index of phonetics articles
A
* Acoustic phonetics
* Active articulator
* Affricate
* Airstream mechanism
* Alexander John Ellis
* Alexander Melville Bell
* Alfred C. Gimson
* Allophone
* Alveolar approximant ()
* Alveolar click ()
* Alveolar consonant
* Alveolar ejecti ...
Notes
References
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* .
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External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Voiced Velar Approximant
Velar consonants
Pulmonic consonants
Voiced oral consonants
Central consonants