Velar approximant

The velar approximant is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is IPA|ɰ, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is M.

The IPA symbol <IPA|ɣ>, which otherwise signifies a voiced velar fricative, is sometimes used for the velar approximant as well (with a lowering diacritic IPA|ɣ˕ when specificity is required). [Harvcoltxt|Martínez-Celdrán et al|2003|p=257-258]

Features

Features of the velar approximant:

* Its manner of articulation is approximant, which means it is produced by bringing one articulator close to another but without the vocal tract being narrowed to such an extent that a turbulent airstream is produced.
* Its place of articulation is velar which means it is articulated with the back part of the tongue (the dorsum) against the soft palate (the velum).
* Its phonation type is voiced, which means the vocal cords are vibrating during the articulation.
* It is an oral consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth.
* It is a central consonant, which means it is produced by allowing the airstream to flow over the middle of the tongue, rather than the sides.
* The airstream mechanism is pulmonic egressive, which means it is articulated by pushing air out of the lungs and through the vocal tract, rather than from the glottis or the mouth.

Occurrence

Notes

References

*Harvard reference
last = Martínez-Celdrán
first= Eugenio
last2 = Fernández-Planas
first2= Ana Ma.
last3 = Carrera-Sabaté
first3 = Josefina
year= 2003
title=Castilian Spanish
journal=Journal of the International Phonetic Association
volume=33
issue=2
pages=255-259

ee also

* List of phonetics topics