phonetics Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans produce and perceive sounds, or in the case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign. Linguists who specialize in studying the physical properties of speech are phoneticians. ...

, secondary articulation occurs when the articulation of a consonant is equivalent to the combined articulations of two or three simpler consonants, at least one of which is an

approximant Approximants are speech sounds that involve the articulators approaching each other but not narrowly enough nor with enough articulatory precision to create turbulent airflow. Therefore, approximants fall between fricatives, which do produce ...

. The secondary articulation of such co-articulated consonants is the approximant-like articulation. It "colors" the primary articulation rather than obscuring it. Maledo (2011) defines secondary articulation as the superimposition of lesser stricture upon a primary articulation.

Types

There are several kinds of secondary articulation supported by the

International Phonetic Alphabet The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is an alphabetic system of phonetic notation based primarily on the Latin script. It was devised by the International Phonetic Association in the late 19th century as a standardized representation ...

: * Labialization is the most frequently encountered secondary articulation. For example, labialized has a primary

velar plosive In phonetics and phonology, a velar stop is a type of consonantal sound, made with the back of the tongue in contact with the soft palate (also known as the velum, hence velar), held tightly enough to block the passage of air (hence a stop conso ...

articulation, , with simultaneous -like rounding of the lips, thus the name. It is in contrast to the doubly articulated labial-velar consonant , which is articulated with two overlapping plosive articulations, and . * Palatalization is perhaps best known from the Russian "soft" consonants like ), which has a primary alveolar plosive articulation, , with simultaneous -like (i.e. ''y''-like) raising of the body of the tongue. *

Labio-palatalization 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 simultaneous labialization and palatalization. It is found, for example, in the name '' Twi''. * Velarization is the raising of the back of the tongue toward the

velum Velum may refer to: Human anatomy * Superior medullary velum, anterior medullary velum or valve of Vieussens, white matter, in the brain, which stretches between the superior cerebellar peduncles ** Frenulum of superior medullary velum, a slightl ...

, as in the English "dark" L, . * Pharyngealization is a constriction in the throat (pharynx) and is found in the Arabic "emphatic" consonants such as . * Glottalization involves action of the

glottis The glottis is the opening between the vocal folds (the rima glottidis). The glottis is crucial in producing vowels and voiced consonants. Etymology From Ancient Greek ''γλωττίς'' (glōttís), derived from ''γλῶττα'' (glôtta), v ...

in addition to the primary articulation of the consonant. It can sometimes be difficult to distinguish primary and secondary articulation. For example, the

alveolo-palatal consonant In phonetics, alveolo-palatal (or alveopalatal) consonants, sometimes synonymous with pre-palatal consonants, are intermediate in articulation between the coronal and dorsal consonants, or which have simultaneous alveolar and palatal artic ...

s are sometimes characterized as a distinct primary articulation and sometimes as palatalization of postalveolar fricatives, equivalent to or .

Transcription

The most common method of transcription in the IPA is to turn the letter corresponding to the secondary articulation into a superscript written ''after'' the letter for the primary articulation. For example, the ''w'' in is written after the ''k''. This can be misleading, as it iconically suggests that the is released into a sound, analogous to ( with a lateral and nasal release), when actually the two articulations of are generally pronounced more-or-less simultaneously. Secondary articulation often has a strong effect on surrounding

vowel A vowel is a syllabic speech sound pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract. Vowels are one of the two principal classes of speech sounds, the other being the consonant. Vowels vary in quality, in loudness and also in quantity (len ...

s, and may have an audible realization that precedes the primary consonant, or both precedes and follows it. For example, will not generally sound simply like , but may be closer to or even . For this reason, the

IPA IPA commonly refers to: * India pale ale, a style of beer * International Phonetic Alphabet, a system of phonetic notation * Isopropyl alcohol, a chemical compound IPA may also refer to: Organizations International * Insolvency Practitioners A ...

symbols for labialization and palatalization were for a time placed under the primary letter (e.g. for and for ), and a number of phoneticians still prefer such unambiguous usage, with and used specifically for

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