Editing Velar consonant

{{Short description|Place of articulation}}

'''Velar consonants''' are [[consonant]]s [[place of articulation|articulated]] with the back part of the [[tongue]] (the dorsum) against the [[soft palate]], the back part of the roof of the mouth (also known as the "velum").

Since the velar region of the roof of the mouth is relatively extensive and the movements of the dorsum
are not very precise, velars easily undergo [[assimilation (linguistics)|assimilation]], shifting their articulation back or to the front
depending on the quality of adjacent vowels.<ref name="Stroud, 2013">{{cite web|last1=Stroud|first1=Kevin|title=Episode 5: Centum, Satem and the Letter C {{!}} The History of English Podcast|url=http://historyofenglishpodcast.com/2013/08/04/episode-5-centum-satem-and-the-letter-c-2/|website=The History of English Podcast|access-date=29 January 2017|date=August 2013|archive-date=24 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130824213343/http://historyofenglishpodcast.com/2013/08/04/episode-5-centum-satem-and-the-letter-c-2/|url-status=dead}}</ref> They often become automatically ''fronted'', that is partly or completely [[palatal consonant|palatal]] before a following front vowel, and ''retracted'', that is partly or completely [[uvular consonant|uvular]] before back vowels.

[[Palatalization (phonetics)|Palatalised]] velars (like English {{IPA|/k/}} in ''keen'' or ''cube'') are sometimes referred to as '''palatovelars'''. Many languages also have [[labialization|labialized]] velars, such as {{IPA|[kʷ]}}, in which the articulation is accompanied by rounding of the lips. There are also [[labial–velar consonant]]s, which are doubly articulated at the velum and at the lips, such as {{IPA|[k͡p]}}. This distinction disappears with the [[approximant consonant]] {{IPA|[w]}} since labialization involves adding of a labial approximant articulation to a sound, and this ambiguous situation is often called '''labiovelar'''.

A velar [[trill consonant|trill]] or [[flap consonant|tap]] is not possible according to the [[International Phonetics Association]]: see the shaded boxes on the [[International Phonetic Alphabet#Consonants|table of pulmonic consonants]]. In the velar position, the tongue has an extremely restricted ability to carry out the type of motion associated with trills or taps, and the body of the tongue has no freedom to move quickly enough to produce a [[velar trill]] or flap.<ref>[http://www.madore.org/~david/misc/linguistic/ipa/ The International phonetic Alphabet]</ref>

==Examples==
The velar consonants identified by the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]] are:

{|class=wikitable
|-
! rowspan="2" | IPA
! rowspan="2" | Description
! colspan="4" | Example
|-
! Language
! Orthography
! IPA
! Meaning
|-
! {{IPA|ŋ̊}}
| [[voiceless velar nasal]]
| [[Burmese language|Burmese]]{{sfnp|Ladefoged|Maddieson|1996|p=111}}
| {{lang|my|[[Burmese alphabet|ငှါး]]}}/{{Transliteration|my|nga:}}
| {{IPA|['''ŋ̊'''á]}}
| 'borrow'
|-
! {{IPA|ŋ}}
| [[voiced velar nasal]]
| [[English language|English]]
| ''ri'''ng'''''
| {{IPA|[ɹʷɪ'''ŋ''']}}
| 'ring'
|-
! {{IPA|k}}
| [[voiceless velar plosive]] 
| [[English language|English]]
| ''s'''k'''ip''
| {{IPA|[s'''k'''ɪp]}}
| 'skip'
|-
! {{IPA|ɡ}}
| [[voiced velar plosive]]
| [[English language|English]]
| ''a'''g'''o''
| {{IPA|[ə'''ɡ'''oʊ̯]}}
| 'ago'
|-
! {{IPA|k͜x}}
| [[voiceless velar affricate]] 
| [[Korean language|Korean]]
|[[Hangul|'''크'''다]]/[[Revised Romanization of Korean|'''''k'''euda'']]
|{{IPA|['''k͜x'''ɯ̽da]}}
|'big'
|-
! {{IPA|ɡ͡ɣ}}
| [[voiced velar affricate]] 
| [[English language|English]]{{efn|Occasional allophone of /ɡ/ for some speakers of Scouse, RP and Cockney.}}
| '''''g'''ood''
| {{IPA|[ˈ'''ɡ͡ɣ'''ʊˑd̥]}}
| 'good'
|-
! {{IPA|x}}
| [[voiceless velar fricative]]
| [[German language|German]]
|  {{lang|de|Bau'''ch'''}}
| {{IPA|[baʊ'''x''']}}
| 'abdomen'
|-
! {{IPA|ɣ}}
| [[voiced velar fricative]]
| [[Greek language|Greek]]
| {{lang|el|'''γ'''άτα}}
| {{IPA|[ˈ'''ɣ'''ata]}}
| 'cat'
|-
! {{IPA|ɰ}}
| [[voiced velar approximant]]
| [[Irish language|Irish]]
| {{lang|ga|n'''ao'''i}}
| {{IPA|[n̪ˠ'''ɰ'''iː]}}
| 'nine'
|-
! {{IPA|ʍ}}
| [[voiceless labial-velar approximant]]
| [[English language|English]]
| '''''wh'''ich{{efn|In [[List of dialects of the English language|dialect]]s that distinguish between ''which'' and ''witch''.}}''
| {{IPA|['''ʍ'''ɪtʃ]}}
| 'which'
|-
! {{IPA|w}}
| [[voiced labio-velar approximant]]
| [[English language|English]]
| '''''w'''itch''
| {{IPA|['''w'''ɪtʃ]}}
| 'witch'
|-
! {{IPA|k͜𝼄}}
| [[voiceless velar lateral affricate]]
| [[Archi language|Archi]]<ref name="Handout"/>
| ''{{lang|aqc|[[Archi orthography|'''лӀ'''он]]}}/{{Transliteration|aqc|ƛon}}
|{{IPA|['''k͜𝼄'''on]}}
| 'a flock'
|-
! {{IPA|ɡ͡ʟ̝}}
| [[voiced velar lateral affricate]]
|[[Hiw language|Hiw]]
|{{lang|hiw|q'''r̄'''ē}}
|{{IPA|[kʷ'''g͡ʟ'''ɪ]}}
|'dolphin'
|-
! {{IPA|𝼄}}
| [[voiceless velar lateral fricative]]
| [[Wahgi language|Wahgi]]<ref>{{Cite book |author=Donald J. Phillips |url=https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/145138/1/PL-B36.pdf |title=Wahgi Phonology and Morphology |publisher=Pacific Linguistics |year=1976 |series=B-36 |page=18}}</ref>
| ''nò'''ⱡ'''''
| {{IPA|[no'''𝼄'''˩]}}
| 'water'
|-
! {{IPA|ʟ̝}}
| [[voiced velar lateral fricative]]
| [[Archi language|Archi]]<ref name="Handout">{{Cite web |url=http://www.archi.surrey.ac.uk/handout.pdf |title=The Archi Language Tutorial |access-date=2009-12-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110904070032/http://www.archi.surrey.ac.uk/handout.pdf |archive-date=2011-09-04 |url-status=dead }} (The source uses the symbol for the [[voiced alveolar lateral fricative]], {{angbr IPA|ɮ}}, but also notes that the sound to be prevelar.)</ref>
| {{lang|aqc|[[Archi orthography|наӏ'''лъ'''дут]]}}
|{{IPA|[naˤ'''ʟ̝'''dut]}}
|'blue'
|-
! {{IPA|ʟ}}
| [[voiced velar lateral approximant]]
| [[Wahgi language|Wahgi]]
| ''a'''ʟ'''a'''ʟ'''e''
| {{IPA|[a'''ʟ'''a'''ʟ'''e]}}
| 'dizzy'
|-
! {{IPA|ʟ̆}}
| [[voiced velar lateral tap]]
| [[Melpa language|Melpa]]
|colspan=3| {{example needed|date=September 2023}}
|-
! {{IPA|kʼ}}
| [[velar ejective stop]]
| [[Archi language|Archi]]
| {{lang|aqc|'''кӀ'''ан}}
| {{IPA|['''kʼ'''an]}}
| 'bottom'
|-
! {{IPA|k͜xʼ}}
| [[velar ejective affricate]]
| [[Hadza language|Hadza]]
| {{lang|hts|dla'''gg'''wa}}
| {{IPA|[c͜𝼆ʼak͜xʷ’a]}}
| 'to cradle'
|-
! {{IPA|xʼ}}
| [[velar ejective fricative]]
| [[Tlingit language|Tlingit]]
| {{lang|tli|'''xʼ'''áa'''xʼ'''}}
| {{Audio-IPA|Xʼáaxʼ.ogg|[xʼáːxʼ]}}
| 'apple'
|-
! {{IPA|k͜𝼄ʼ}}
| [[velar lateral ejective affricate]]
| [[Sandawe language|Sandawe]]
| {{lang|sad|'''tl’'''ungu}}
| {{IPA|[k͜𝼄ʼùŋɡȕ]}}
| 'sky'
|-
! {{IPA|ɠ̊}} {{IPA|(ƙ)}}
|[[voiceless velar implosive]]
|[[Uspantek language|Uspantek]]<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Bennett |first1=Ryan |last2=Harvey |first2=Meg |last3=Henderson |first3=Robert |last4=Méndez López |first4=Tomás Alberto |date=September 2022 |title=The phonetics and phonology of Uspanteko (Mayan) |journal=Language and Linguistics Compass |language=en |volume=16 |issue=9 |doi=10.1111/lnc3.12467 |issn=1749-818X |s2cid=252453913 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
| {{lang|usp|'''k{{'}}'''aam}}
|{{IPA|[ɠ̊aːm]}}
|'cord/twine'
|-
! {{IPA|ɠ}}
| [[voiced velar implosive]]
| [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]]
| {{lang|sd|ڳرو}}/{{Transliteration|sd|'''g̈'''əro}}
| {{IPA|['''ɠ'''əro]}}
| 'heavy'
|-
! {{IPA|ʞ}}
| [[velar-released click]]
| [[Wolof language|Wolof]] ([[Paralanguage|paralexical]])
|colspan=2| {{IPA|[ʞ]}} (allophonic with uvular {{IPA|[ʞ᫢]}})
| 'yes'
|}

==Lack of velars==
The only languages recorded to lack velars (and any dorsal consonant at all) may be [[Xavante language|Xavante]], standard [[Tahitian language|Tahitian]] (though /tVt/ is pronounced [kVt], a pattern also found in the [[Niihau dialect]] of Hawaiian), and arguably several [[Skou languages]] ([[Wutung language|Wutung]], the Dumo dialect of [[Vanimo language|Vanimo]], and [[Bobe language (Papuan)|Bobe]]), which have a coda {{IPA|[ŋ]}} that has been analyzed as the realization of [[nasal vowel]]s. In [[Pirahã language|Pirahã]], men may lack the only velar consonant.

Other languages lack simple velars. An areal feature of the [[indigenous languages of the Americas]] of the coastal regions of the [[Pacific Northwest]] is that historical *k was palatalized. When such sounds remained stops, they were transcribed {{angbr IPA|kʸ}} in [[Americanist phonetic notation]], presumably corresponding to IPA {{angbr IPA|c}}, but in others, such as the [[Saanich dialect]] of [[Coast Salish languages|Coastal Salish]], [[Salish-Spokane-Kalispel language|Salish-Spokane-Kalispel]], and [[Chemakum language|Chemakum]], *k went further and affricated to {{IPA|[tʃ]}}. Likewise, historical *k’ has become {{IPA|[tʃʼ]}} and historical *x has become {{IPA|[ʃ]}}; there was no *g or *ŋ. In the [[Northwest Caucasian languages]], historical *{{IPA|[k]}} has also become palatalized, becoming {{IPA|/kʲ/}} in [[Ubykh language|Ubykh]] and {{IPA|/tʃ/}} in most [[Circassian languages|Circassian]] varieties. In both regions the languages retain a [[labialized velar consonant|labialized velar series]] (e.g. {{IPA|[kʷ], [kʼʷ], [gʷ], [xʷ], [w]}} in the North Caucasus) as well as [[uvular consonant]]s.<ref>Viacheslav A. Chirikba, 1996, ''Common West Caucasian: the reconstruction of its phonological system and parts of its lexicon and morphology'', p. 192. Research School CNWS: Leiden.</ref> In the languages of those families that retain plain velars, both the plain and labialized velars are ''pre-velar'', perhaps to make them more distinct from the uvulars which may be ''post-velar''. Prevelar consonants are susceptible to palatalization. A similar system, contrasting {{IPA|*kʲ}} with {{IPA|*kʷ}} and leaving {{IPA|*k}} marginal at best, is reconstructed for [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]].

Apart from the voiceless plosive {{IPA|[k]}}, no other velar consonant is particularly common, even the {{IPA|[w]}} and {{IPA|[ŋ]}} that occur in English. There can be no phoneme {{IPA|/ɡ/}} in a language that lacks voiced stops, like [[Mandarin Chinese]],{{efn|What is written ''g'' in [[pinyin]] is {{IPA|/k/}}, though that sound does have an allophone {{IPA|[ɡ]}} in atonic syllables.}} but it is sporadically missing elsewhere. Of the languages surveyed in the ''World Atlas of Language Structures'', about 10% of languages that otherwise have {{IPA|/p b t d k/}} are missing {{IPA|/ɡ/}}.<ref>[http://wals.info/feature/5 The World Atlas of Language Structures Online:Voicing and Gaps in Plosive Systems]</ref>

[[Pirahã language|Pirahã]] has both a {{IPA|[k]}} and a {{IPA|[ɡ]}} phonetically. However, the {{IPA|[k]}} does not behave as other consonants, and the argument has been made that it is phonemically {{IPA|/hi/}}, leaving Pirahã with only {{IPA|/ɡ/}} as an underlyingly velar consonant.

[[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]] does not distinguish {{IPA|[k]}} from {{IPA|[t]}}; {{angbr|k}} tends toward {{IPA|[k]}} at the beginning of utterances, {{IPA|[t]}} before {{IPA|[i]}}, and is variable elsewhere, especially in the dialect of Ni{{okina}}ihau and Kaua{{okina}}i. Since Hawaiian has no {{IPA|[ŋ]}}, and {{angbr|w}} varies between {{IPA|[w]}} and {{IPA|[v]}}, it is not clearly meaningful to say that Hawaiian has phonemic velar consonants.

Several [[Khoisan languages]] have limited numbers or distributions of pulmonic velar consonants. (Their click consonants are articulated in the uvular or possibly velar region, but that occlusion is part of the [[airstream mechanism]] rather than the place of articulation of the consonant.) [[Khoekhoe language|Khoekhoe]], for example, does not allow velars in medial or final position, but in [[Juǀʼhoan dialect|Juǀʼhoan]] velars are rare even in initial position.

=={{vanchor|Velodorsal}} consonants==
Normal velar consonants are ''dorso-velar'': The dorsum (body) of the tongue rises to contact the velum (soft palate) of the roof of the mouth. In disordered speech there are also ''velo-dorsal'' stops, with the opposite articulation: The velum lowers to contact the tongue, which remains static. In the [[extensions to the IPA]] for disordered speech, these are transcribed by reversing the IPA letter for a velar consonant, e.g. {{angbr IPA|𝼃}} for a voiceless velodorsal stop,{{efn|The old letter for a [[back-released velar click]], turned-k {{angbr IPA|ʞ}}, was used from 2008 to 2015.}} {{angbr IPA|𝼁}} for voiced, and {{angbr IPA|𝼇}} for a nasal.

{|class=wikitable
|-
! [[extIPA]]
! (html)
! Description
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger; width:2em;" | {{IPA|&#x1DF03;}} 
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | <span style="{{mirrorH}}">{{IPA|k}}</span>
|Voiceless velodorsal plosive
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger; width:2em;" | {{IPA|&#x1DF01;}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | <span style="{{mirrorH}}">{{IPA|ɡ}}</span>
|Voiced velodorsal plosive
|-
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger; width:2em;" | {{IPA|&#x1DF07;}}
| style="text-align:center; font-size:larger;" | <span style="{{mirrorH}}">{{IPA|ŋ}}</span>
|Velodorsal nasal
|}

==See also==
* [[Velarization]]
* [[Place of articulation]]
* [[List of phonetics topics]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{SOWL}}

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[[Category:Place of articulation]]
[[Category:Velar consonants| ]]