Voiced labial–palatal approximant

The voiced labial–palatal (or labio-palatal) approximant is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages, for example, French {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}, read as [ɥitjɛm]. It has two constrictions in the vocal tract: with the tongue on the palate, and rounded at the lips. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is Template:Angbr IPA, a [[turned h|rotated lowercase letter Template:Angbr]], or occasionally Template:Angbr IPA, which indicates Template:IPAblink with a different kind of rounding.

The labial–palatal approximant can in many cases be considered the semivocalic equivalent of the close front rounded vowel {{#invoke:IPA|main}}. They alternate with each other in certain languages, such as French, and in the diphthongs of some languages, Template:Angbr IPA and Template:Angbr IPA with the non-syllabic diacritic are used in different transcription systems to represent the same sound. Sometimes,<ref>See e.g. Template:Harvcoltxt</ref> Template:Angbr IPA is written in place of Template:Angbr IPA, even though the former symbol denotes an extra-short Template:IPAblink in the official IPA.

Some languages, though, have a palatal approximant that is unspecified for rounding, and therefore cannot be considered the semivocalic equivalent of either {{#invoke:IPA|main}} or its unrounded counterpart Template:IPAblink. An example of such a language is Spanish, in which the labialized palatal approximant (not a semivowel) appears allophonically with rounded vowels in words such as ayuda {{#invoke:IPA|main}} 'help'. According to some sources, it is not correct to transcribe this with the symbol Template:Angbr IPA, which has a different kind of rounding, or with Template:Angbr IPA, which implies spread lips; the only suitable transcription is Template:Angbr IPA.Template:Sfnp See palatal approximant for more information.

There is also the labialized postpalatal approximant<ref name="post-palatal">Instead of "post-palatal", it can be called "retracted palatal", "backed palatal", "palato-velar", "pre-velar", "advanced velar", "fronted velar" or "front-velar". For simplicity, this article uses only the term "post-palatal".</ref> in some languages, which is articulated slightly more back compared with the place of articulation of the prototypical labialized palatal approximant, though not as back as the prototypical labialized velar approximant. It can be considered the semivocalic equivalent of the close central rounded vowel {{#invoke:IPA|main}}. The International Phonetic Alphabet does not have a separate symbol for that sound, though it can be transcribed as Template:Angbr IPA or Template:Angbr IPA (both symbols denote a retracted Template:Angbr IPA), Template:Angbr IPA (centralized Template:Angbr IPA), Template:Angbr IPA (advanced Template:Angbr IPA) or Template:Angbr IPA (centralized Template:Angbr IPA). The equivalent X-SAMPA symbols are H_o, H_", w_+ and w_", respectively. Other possible transcriptions include a centralized and labialized Template:Angbr IPA (Template:Angbr IPA in the IPA, j_"_w in X-SAMPA) and a non-syllabic Template:Angbr IPA (Template:Angbr IPA in the IPA, }_^ in X-SAMPA).

Especially in broad transcription, the labialized postpalatal approximant may be transcribed as a palatalized and labialized velar approximant (Template:Angbr IPA in the IPA, w' or w_j in X-SAMPA).

Compressed palatal approximant

The compressed palatal approximant is typically transcribed in IPA simply as Template:Angbr IPA, and that is the convention used in this article. There is no dedicated diacritic for compression in the IPA. However, the compression of the lips can be shown with the letter Template:IPAalink as Template:Angbr IPA (simultaneous {{#invoke:IPA|main}} and labial compression) or Template:Angbr IPA ({{#invoke:IPA|main}} modified with labial compression). The spread-lip diacritic Template:Angbr IPA may also be used with a labialized approximant letter Template:Angbr IPA as an ad hoc symbol, though technically 'spread' means unrounded.

The compressed post-palatal approximant<ref name="post-palatal"/> can be transcribed simply as Template:Angbr IPA (centralized {{#invoke:IPA|main}}), and that is the convention used in this article. Other possible transcriptions include Template:Angbr IPA (centralized {{#invoke:IPA|main}} modified with labial compression) and Template:Angbr IPA (centralized {{#invoke:IPA|main}} with the spread-lip diacritic).

Features

Features of the compressed palatal approximant:

• Its place of articulation is palatal and in addition it is endo-labialized, which is accomplished by raising the body of the tongue toward the palate while approximating the lips.

Occurrence

Because the labialized palatal approximant is assumed to have compression, and few descriptions cover the distinction, some examples in the table below may actually have protrusion.

Language		Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Abkhaz		ауаҩы	main}}	'human'	See Abkhaz phonology
Breton	Gwenedeg	lang}}	main}}	'escapade'	Realization of /w/ before front vowels.
Chinese	Mandarin	lang}} / {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}	main}}	'moon'	See Mandarin phonology
	ShanghaineseTemplate:Sfnp	lang}} / yoq	main}}	'bath'	main}} before rounded vowels.Template:Sfnp
English	Bay IslandsTemplate:Sfnp	lang}}	main}}	'will'	main}} or {{#invoke:IPA|main}} that only occurs before /i/ or /ɪ/. See Bay Islands English#Phonology.
French		lang}}	Template:Audio-IPA	'to harm'	main}} or {{#invoke:IPA|main}} in Belgian French. See French phonology
Iaai		vëk	main}}	'four'	main}}.
KhamTemplate:Sfnp	Gamale Kham	lang}}	main}}	'husband'
Korean	Gyeonggi	lang}} / {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}	main}}	'Take it easy'	main}}. See Korean phonology
Kurdish		lang}}	main}}	'back'	See Kurdish phonology
Norwegian	Urban EastTemplate:Sfnp	lang}}	main}}	'dualism'	main}}.Template:Sfnp May be transcribed with Template:Angbr IPA or simply Template:Angbr IPA. See Norwegian phonology
ShipiboTemplate:Sfnp		Template:Example needed			main}} before {{#invoke:IPA|main}}. Only lightly labialized.Template:Sfnp
Occitan		lang}}	main}}	'night'	See Occitan phonology
Swedish	Central Standard	lang}}	Template:Audio-IPA	'ugly'	main}} ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}); can be a fricative instead. Palatal in the Central Standard variety, post-palatal in some other varieties. See Swedish phonology
Upper SorbianTemplate:Sfnp		lang}}	main}}	'I know'	Soft counterpart of Template:IPAslink.Template:Sfnp
Xumi	LowerTemplate:Sfnp	{{#invoke:IPA|main}}		'fang'	Allophone of {{#invoke:IPA|main}} when preceded by an (alveolo-)palatal initial and/or followed by one of the front vowels {{#invoke:IPA|main}} (in Upper Xumi also {{#invoke:IPA|main}}).Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp
	UpperTemplate:Sfnp	{{#invoke:IPA|main}}		'to ask'

Protruded palatal approximant

As there are no diacritics in the IPA to distinguish protruded and compressed rounding, an old diacritic for labialization, Template:Angbr IPA, will be used here as an ad hoc symbol for the protruded palatal approximant. Another possible transcription is Template:Angbr IPA or Template:Angbr IPA (a palatal approximant modified by endolabialization).

Acoustically, this sound is "between" the more typical compressed palatal approximant {{#invoke:IPA|main}} and the non-labialized palatal approximant Template:IPAblink.

Features

Features of the protruded palatal approximant:

• Its place of articulation is labial–palatal, which is accomplished by raising the body of the tongue toward the palate while approximating the lips.

Occurrence

Language		Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Norwegian	Urban EastTemplate:Sfnp	lang}}	Template:Nowrap	'cyanide'	main}}.Template:Sfnp See Norwegian phonology
Spanish		lang}}	main}}	'help'	main}} before and between rounded vowels. May be a fricative {{#invoke:IPA|main}} in emphatic speech. See Spanish phonology

References

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External links

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