Labio-palatalization
A labio-palatalized (sometimes "labial-palatal" but see below) sound is one that is simultaneously labialized and palatalized. The symbol in the IPA for this secondary articulation is <ɥ>, a superscript <ɥ>, the symbol for the Labio-palatal approximant. Labio-palatal sounds are very rare, because their presence is dependent upon that of extremely marked front rounded vowels [[open-mid front rounded vowel|œ]], [[close-mid front rounded vowel|ø]] and [[close front rounded vowel|y]][1]. The labial-palatal approximant occurs in Mandarin Chinese, French and in a few languages without front rounded vowels in the Caucasus and Africa (Akan).[2]
True coarticulated labial-palatal consonants are known to be theoretically possible[3] but the above-mentioned condition for their presence makes their evolution impossible in practice. Despite the fact that no documented language contains them, the International Phonetic Alphabet does have symbols for labial-palatal plosives that are analogous to those used for the voiced and voiceless labial-velar plosives except that the order of the two closures is reversed.
In Russian, /o/ and /u/ trigger labialization of any preceding consonant, including palatalized consonants, so that нёс ('he carried') is pronounced [nɥos].
List of labio-palatal and labial-palatal consonants with IPA symbols[4]
| IPA | Description |
|---|---|
| p͡c | voiceless labial-palatal plosive |
| b͡ɟ | voiced labial-palatal plosive |
| m͡ɲ | labial-palatal nasal |
| cʷ | labialized voiceless palatal plosive |
| ɟʷ | labialized voiced palatal plosive |
| çʷ | labialized voiceless palatal fricative |
| ʝʷ | labialized voiced palatal fricative |
See also
References
- ^ Maddieson, Ian; Patterns of Sounds (Cambridge Studies in Speech Science and Communication); p. 95; ISBN 0521265363
- ^ Maddieson, Ian; Patterns of Sounds; pp. 92 and 292
- ^ Segmental phonology (see pp. 7-8)
- ^ Ibid