Voiceless velar affricate
| Voiceless velar affricate | |
|---|---|
| k͡x | |
| k͜x | |
| kx | |
| Encoding | |
| X-SAMPA |
k_x |
| Sound | |
 source · help | |
The voiceless velar affricate is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbols in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound are ⟨k͡x⟩ and ⟨k͜x⟩, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is k_x. The tie bar is sometimes omitted, yielding ⟨kx⟩ in the IPA and kx in X-SAMPA. This is potentially problematic in case of at least some affricates, because there are languages that contrast certain affricates with stop-fricative sequences. Polish words czysta ('clean (f.)', pronounced with an affricate /t͡ʂ/) and trzysta ('three hundred', pronounced with a sequence /tʂ/) are an example of a minimal pair based on such a contrast.
Some languages have the voiceless pre-velar affricate,[1] which is articulated slightly more front compared with the place of articulation of the prototypical voiceless velar affricate, though not as front as the prototypical voiceless palatal affricate - see that article for more information.
Conversely, some languages have the voiceless post-velar affricate,[2] which is articulated slightly behind the place of articulation of the prototypical voiceless velar affricate, though not as back as the prototypical voiceless uvular affricate - see that article for more information.
Features
Features of the voiceless velar affricate:
- Its manner of articulation is affricate, which means it is produced by first stopping the airflow entirely, then allowing air flow through a constricted channel at the place of articulation, causing turbulence.
- Its place of articulation is velar, which means it is articulated with the back of the tongue at the soft palate.
- Its phonation is voiceless, which means it is produced without vibrations of the vocal cords. In some languages the vocal cords are actively separated, so it is always voiceless; in others the cords are lax, so that it may take on the voicing of adjacent sounds.
- It is an oral consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth only.
- It is a central consonant, which means it is produced by directing the airstream along the center of the tongue, rather than to the sides.
- The airstream mechanism is pulmonic, which means it is articulated by pushing air solely with the lungs and diaphragm, as in most sounds.
Occurrence
| Language | Word | IPA | Meaning | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bavarian | Dialects spoken in Tyrol | Kchind | [ˈk͡xind̥] | 'child' | |
| Dutch | Orsmaal-Gussenhoven dialect[3] | blik | [ˈblɪk͡x] | 'plate' | Optional pre-pausal allophone of /k/.[3] See Orsmaal-Gussenhoven dialect phonology |
| English | Broad Cockney[4] | cab | [ˈk͡xɛˑb̥] | 'cab' | Possible word-initial, intervocalic and word-final allophone of /k/.[5] See English phonology |
| New Zealand[6] | Word-initial allophone of /k/.[6] See English phonology | ||||
| North Wales[7] | [ˈk͡xaˑb̥] | Word-initial and word-final allophone of /k/; in free variation with a strongly aspirated stop [kʰ].[7] See English phonology | |||
| Received Pronunciation[8] | Occasional allophone of /k/.[8] See English phonology | ||||
| Scouse[9] | Possible syllable-initial and word-final allophone of /k/.[9] See English phonology | ||||
| German | Standard Austrian[10] | Kübel | [ˈk͡xyːbœl] | 'bucket' | Possible realization of /k/ before front vowels.[10] See Standard German phonology |
| Old dialect of Dinkelberg | Anke | [ˈɑŋk͡xə] | 'butter' | ||
| Swiss dialects | Sack | [z̥ɑk͡x] | 'bag' | May be actually uvular [q͡χ] in some dialects. | |
| Korean[11] | Allophone of /kʰ/ before /ɯ/.[11] See Korean phonology | ||||
| Lakota | lakhóta | [laˈk͡xota] | 'Lakota' | Allophone of /kʰ/ before /a/, /ã/, /ɯ/, /ĩ/, and /ũ/. | |
| Navajo | ashkii | [aʃk͡xiː] | 'boy' | See Navajo phonology | |
| !Xóõ | Used in pulmonic-contour clicks. | ||||
References
- ↑ Instead of "pre-velar", it can be called "advanced velar", "fronted velar", "front-velar", "palato-velar", "post-palatal", "retracted palatal" or "backed palatal".
- ↑ Instead of "post-velar", it can be called "retracted velar", "backed velar", "pre-uvular", "advanced uvular" or "fronted uvular".
- 1 2 Peters (2010), p. 240.
- ↑ Wells (1982), pp. 322-323.
- ↑ Wells (1982), p. 323.
- 1 2 Bauer et al. (2007), p. 100.
- 1 2 Penhallurick (2004), pp. 108-109.
- 1 2 Gimson (2014), p. 172.
- 1 2 Wells (1982), p. 372.
- 1 2 Moosmüller, Schmid & Brandstätter (2015), p. 341.
- 1 2 Shin, Kiaer & Cha (2012), p. 77.
Bibliography
- Bauer, Laurie; Warren, Paul; Bardsley, Dianne; Kennedy, Marianna; Major, George (2007), "New Zealand English", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 37 (1): 97–102, doi:10.1017/S0025100306002830
- Gimson, Alfred Charles (2014), Cruttenden, Alan, ed., Gimson's Pronunciation of English (8th ed.), Routledge, ISBN 9781444183092
- Moosmüller, Sylvia; Schmid, Carolin; Brandstätter, Julia (2015), "Standard Austrian German", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 45 (03): 339–348, doi:10.1017/S0025100315000055
- Penhallurick, Robert (2004), "Welsh English: phonology", in Schneider, Edgar W.; Burridge, Kate; Kortmann, Bernd; Mesthrie, Rajend; Upton, Clive, A handbook of varieties of English, 1: Phonology, Mouton de Gruyter, pp. 98–112, ISBN 3-11-017532-0
- Peters, Jörg (2010), "The Flemish–Brabant dialect of Orsmaal–Gussenhoven", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 40 (2): 239–246, doi:10.1017/S0025100310000083
- Shin, Ji-young; Kiaer, Ji-eun; Cha, Jae-eun (2012), The Sounds of Korean, ISBN 9781107030053
- Wells, John C. (1982), Accents of English 2: The British Isles, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-24224-X
