Labio-palatalization
A labio-palatalized sound is one that is simultaneously labialized and palatalized. Typically the roundedness is compressed, like [y], rather than protruded like [u]. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet for this secondary articulation is ‹ᶣ›, a superscript ‹ɥ›, the symbol for the labial-palatal approximant. If such sounds pattern with other, labialized, consonants, they may instead be transcribed as palatalized consonants plus labialization, ‹ʷ›, as with the [ɕʷ] = [ɕᶣ] of Abkhaz or the [ɲʷ] = [ɲᶣ] of Akan.
The labial-palatal approximant [ɥ] occurs in Mandarin Chinese and French, but is uncommon, as it is generally dependent upon the presence of front rounded vowels such as [ø] and [y], which are themselves not common.[1] However, the labial-palatal approximant and labio-palatalized consonants also appear in languages without front rounded vowels in the Caucasus and West Africa,[2] such as Abkhaz, and as allophones of labialized consonants before /i/, including the [tɕᶣ] at the beginning of the language name Twi. In Russian, /o/ and /u/ trigger labialization of any preceding consonant, including palatalized consonants, so that нёс 'he carried' is pronounced [nᶣos].
Labial-palatal consonants
Truly coarticulated labial-palatal consonants such as [c͡p, ɟ͡b, ɲ͡m] are theoretically possible.[3] However, the closest sounds attested from the world's languages are the labial-postalveolar consonants of Yélî Dnye in New Guinea, which are sometimes transcribed as labial-palatals.
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)