View source for Voiceless labial–velar fricative

{{short description|Consonantal sound}}
{{Infobox IPA
| above = Voiceless labial–velar fricative
| ipa symbol = ʍ
| ipa number = 169
| decimal1 = 653
| x-sampa = W
| kirshenbaum = w<vls>
| imagefile = IPA Unicode 0x028D.svg
| imagesize = 150px
| braille = !
| braille2 = w
}}
The '''voiceless labial–velar fricative''' is a type of [[consonant]]al sound, used in [[Speech|spoken]] [[language]]s. The symbol in the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]] that represents this sound is {{angbr IPA|xʷ}} or occasionally {{angbr IPA|ʍ}}. The letter {{angbr IPA|ʍ}} was defined as a "voiceless {{IPA|[w]}}" until 1979,<ref>{{cite journal
|author=Association phonétique internationale
|year=1952
|title=The International Phonetic Alphabet (revised to 1951)
|journal=Le Maître Phonétique
|series=Troisième série
|volume=30
|issue=97
|at=Front matter
|jstor=44748475
}}</ref> when it was defined as a [[fricative]] with the place of articulation of {{IPAblink|k͡p}} the same way that {{IPA|[w]}} is an approximant with the place of articulation of {{IPAblink|ɡ͡b}}.<ref>{{cite journal
|author=International Phonetic Association
|year=1978
|title=The International Phonetic Alphabet (Revised to 1979)
|journal=Journal of the International Phonetic Association
|volume=8
|issue=1–2
|at=Supplement
|jstor=44541414
}}</ref> The IPA ''Handbook'' describes {{angbr IPA|ʍ}} as a "fricative" in the introduction (IPA 1999: ix) while a chapter within characterizes it as an "approximant" (IPA 1999: 136).

Some linguists posit [[voiceless approximant]]s distinct from voiceless fricatives. To them, English {{IPA|/ʍ/}} is an approximant {{IPA|[w̥]}},<ref>For instance, Lyle Campbell (2020) ''Historical Linguistics'', 4th edition, page xxii.</ref> a labialized glottal fricative {{IPA|[hʷ]}}, or an {{IPA|[hw]}} sequence, not a velar fricative.{{sfnp|Ladefoged|2006|p=68}} [[Scots language|Scots]] {{IPA|/ʍ/}} has been described as a velar fricative,{{sfnp|International Phonetic Association|1999|p=22}} especially in older Scots, where it was {{IPA|[xw]}}.{{sfnp|Johnston|1997|pp=499, 510}} Other linguists believe that a "voiceless approximant" is a contradiction in terms, and so {{IPA|[w̥]}} must be the same as {{IPA|[xʷ]}}. Ladefoged and Maddieson were unable to confirm that any language has fricatives produced at two places of articulation, like labial and velar.{{sfnp|Ladefoged|Maddieson|1996|pp=330–2}} They conclude that "if it is a fricative, it is better described as a voiceless labialized velar fricative".{{sfnp|Ladefoged|Maddieson|1996|p=326}}

==Features==
Features of the voiceless labial–velar fricative:

{{fricative}}
{{labiovelar}}
{{voiceless short}}
{{oral}}
{{central articulation}}
{{pulmonic}}

==Occurrence==
{| class="wikitable"
!Family
!colspan=2| Language
! Word
! [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]
! Meaning
! Notes
|-
| rowspan="2" |[[Eskimo-Aleut languages|Eskimo-Aleut]]
| rowspan="2" |[[Aleut language|Aleut]]<ref name="Golovko1994">{{cite book |last=Головко |first=Е. В. |title=Словарь алеутско-русский и русско-алеутский (беринговский диалект) |year=1994 |isbn=978-5-09-002312-2 |page=14 |publisher=Отд-ние изд-ва "Просвещение" |trans-title=Aleut-Russian and Russian-Aleut Dictionary (Bering dialect)}}</ref>
|Atkan
|'''''hw'''ax̂''
|rowspan=2|{{IPA|[ʍaχ]}}
|rowspan=2|'smoke'
|
|-
|Bering
|'''''ʼЎ'''aӽ''
|
|-
|[[Celtic languages|Celtic]]
|[[Cornish language|Cornish]]
|[[Standard Written Form|SWF]]
|{{Lang|kgj|'''hw'''i}}
|{{IPA|[ʍi]}}
|'you all'
|
|-
|rowspan=7| [[Germanic languages|Germanic]]
|rowspan=7| [[English language|English]]
| Conservative [[Received Pronunciation]]<ref name="britishlibrary"/>
|rowspan=7| [[English orthography|'''''wh'''ine'']]
|rowspan=3 align=center| {{IPA|[ʍaɪ̯n]}}
|rowspan=7| 'whine'
|rowspan=7| English {{IPA|/ʍ/}} is generally a labio-velar fricative or approximant.{{sfnp|Ladefoged|2006|p=68}} It is usually represented phonemically as /hw/, but phonetically there is not a sequence of [h] plus [w] (see [[English phonology]]). In General American{{sfnp|Rogers|2000|p=120}} and New Zealand English{{sfnp|Rogers|2000|p=117}} only some speakers maintain a distinction with {{IPA|/w/}}; in Europe, mostly heard in Irish and Scottish accents.<ref name="britishlibrary">{{cite web|title=Received Pronunciation Phonology|url=http://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/sounds/case-studies/received-pronunciation/consonants/}}</ref> See [[English phonology]] and [[phonological history of wh]].
|-
| Cultivated [[South African English|South African]]{{sfnp|Lass|2002|p=121}}
|-
| Conservative [[General American]]{{sfnp|Rogers|2000|p=120}}
|-
| [[Hiberno-English|Irish]]{{sfnp|Lass|2002|p=121}}{{sfnp|Wells|1982|p=432}}
|rowspan=2 align=center| {{IPA|[ʍʌɪ̯n]}}
|-
| [[Scottish English|Scottish]]{{sfnp|Lass|2002|p=121}}{{sfnp|McMahon|2002|p=31}}{{sfnp|Wells|1982|p=408}}
|-
| [[Southern American English|Southern American]]{{sfnp|Labov|Ash|Boberg|2006}}
|align=center| {{IPA|[ʍäːn]}}
|-
| [[New Zealand English|New Zealand]]{{sfnp|Rogers|2000|p=117}}{{sfnp|McMahon|2002|p=31}}{{sfnp|Wells|1982|p=610}}
|align=center| {{IPA|[ʍɑe̯n]}}
|-
|[[Athabaskan languages|Athabaskan]]
| colspan=2|[[Hupa language|Hupa]]<ref>{{cite web
 | last = Golla
 | first = Victor
 | title = Hupa Language Dictionary Second Edition
 | year = 1996
 | url = http://humboldt-dspace.calstate.edu/handle/2148/48
 | access-date = Oct 31, 2021
}}</ref>
|{{lang|hup|xwe꞉y}}
|{{IPA|[xʷeːj]}}
|'his property'
| A voiceless labialized velar fricative.
|-
|[[Sino-Tibetan languages|Sino-Tibetan]]
|[[Kham language|Kham]]
|[[Kham language|Gamale Kham]]
|{{Lang|kgj|[[Devanāgarī|ह्वा]]}}
|{{IPA|[ʍɐ]}}
|'tooth'
|Described as an approximant.{{sfnp|Wilde|2016}}
|-
| rowspan = "2" |  [[Iranian languages|Iranian]]
| rowspan = "2" | [[Kurdish language|Kurdish]]
| [[Kurmanji]] (Northern)
| {{lang|ku|[[Kurdish alphabets|'''خو'''یشک]]|rtl=yes}} / '''xw'''îşk ||{{IPA|[xʷɪʃk]}} || 'sister' ||
|-
| [[Kalhori]] (Southern)
| {{lang|ku|[[Kurdish alphabets|'''خو'''ەش]]|rtl=yes}} / '''xw'''eş ||{{IPA|[xʷæʃ]}} || 'nice' ||
|-
|[[Salishan languages|Salishan]]
|colspan=2| [[Lushootseed language|Lushootseed]]
|{{lang|lut|d'''xʷ'''ʔiyb}}
|align=center| {{IPA|[dxʷʔib]}}
| 'Newhalem, Washington'
|-
| [[Iranian languages|Iranian]]
| [[Persian language|Persian]]
| [[Classical Persian]]
| {{lang|fa|[[Persian alphabet|'''خو'''استن]]|rtl=yes}} / '''xw'''âstän ||{{IPA|[xʷɑːs.ˈtan]}} || 'to want'
| In modern standard dialects of Persian, the pronunciation has evolved to a simple [[Voiceless velar fricative]] ([x]) sound
|-
|[[Salishan languages|Salishan]]
|colspan=2| [[Shuswap language|Shuswap]]
|{{lang|shs|se'''cw'''epemctsín}}
|align=center| {{IPA|[ʃəxʷəpəməxˈtʃin]}}
| 'Shuswap language'
|-
|[[Slavic languages|Slavic]]
|colspan=2| [[Slovene language|Slovene]]{{sfnp|Šuštaršič|Komar|Petek|1999|p=136}}{{sfnp|Greenberg|2006|p=18}}
| ''[[Slovene_language#Writing_system|'''v'''se]]''
|align=center| {{IPA|[ˈʍsɛ]}}
| 'everything'
| Allophone of {{IPA|/ʋ/}} in the syllable onset before voiceless consonants, in free variation with a vowel {{IPAblink|u}}. Voiced {{IPAblink|w}} before voiced consonants.{{sfnp|Šuštaršič|Komar|Petek|1999|p=136}}{{sfnp|Greenberg|2006|p=18}} See [[Slovene phonology]].
|-
| colspan="3" |[[Washo language|Washo]] ([[Language isolate|isolate]])
| {{lang|was|'''W'''áʔi}}
|align=center| {{IPA|[ˈxʷaʔi]}} or {{IPA|[ˈw̥aʔi]}}
| 'he's the one who's doing it'
| Variously described as a labialized velar fricative or a voiceless approximant.
|}

==See also==
*[[Index of phonetics articles]]
*[[hwair]]
*[[List of Latin-script digraphs#W|Wh (digraph)]]
*[[Phonological history of wh#Wine–whine merger|Wine–whine merger]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
*{{citation
|last=Greenberg
|first=Mark L.
|title=A Short Reference Grammar of Standard Slovene
|location=Kansas
|publisher=University of Kansas
|year=2006
|url=http://www.seelrc.org:8080/grammar/mainframe.jsp?nLanguageID=8
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070129053413/http://www.seelrc.org:8080/grammar/mainframe.jsp?nLanguageID=8
|archive-date=2007-01-29
}}
*{{citation
|author=International Phonetic Association
|year=1999
|title=Handbook of the International Phonetic Association: A guide to the use of the International Phonetic Alphabet
|publisher=Cambridge University Press
|isbn=0-521-65236-7
}}
*{{citation
|last=Johnston
|first=Paul
|year=1997
|chapter=Regional Variation
|editor-last=Jones
|editor-first=Charles
|title=The Edinburgh History of the Scots Language
|pages=433–513
|location=Edinburgh
|publisher=Edinburgh University Press
|jstor=10.3366/j.ctvxcrwhq.15
|isbn=978-0-7486-0754-9
}}
*{{citation
|last1=Labov
|first1=William
|author-link=William Labov
|last2=Ash
|first2=Sharon
|last3=Boberg
|first3=Charles
|year=2006
|title=The Atlas of North American English
|location=Berlin
|publisher=Mouton-de Gruyter
|isbn=3-11-016746-8
}}
*{{citation
|last=Ladefoged
|first=Peter
|year=2006
|title=A Course in Phonetics
|edition=5th
|location=Fort Worth
|publisher=Harcourt College Publishers
}}
*{{SOWL|mode=cs2}}
*{{citation
|last=Lass
|first=Roger
|chapter=South African English
|editor-last=Mesthrie
|editor-first=Rajend
|year=2002
|title=Language in South Africa
|publisher=Cambridge University Press
|isbn=9780521791052
}}
*{{citation
|last=McMahon
|first=April
|year=2002
|title=An Introduction to English Phonology
|place=Edinburgh
|publisher=Edinburgh University Press Ltd
|isbn=0-7486-1252-1
}}
*{{citation
|last=Rogers
|first=Henry
|year=2000
|title=The Sounds of Language: An Introduction to Phonetics
|place=Essex
|publisher=Pearson Education Limited
|isbn=978-0-582-38182-7
|url-access=registration
|url=https://archive.org/details/soundsoflanguage00roge
}}
*{{citation
|last1=Šuštaršič
|first1=Rastislav
|last2=Komar
|first2=Smiljana
|last3=Petek
|first3=Bojan
|year=1999
|chapter=Slovene
|title=Handbook of the International Phonetic Association: A guide to the use of the International Phonetic Alphabet
|place=Cambridge
|publisher=Cambridge University Press
|pages=135–139
|isbn=0-521-65236-7
|doi=10.1017/S0025100300004874
|s2cid=249404451
}}
*{{Accents of English|hide2=y}}
*{{citation
|last=Wilde
|first=Christopher P.
|year=2016
|title=Gamale Kham phonology revisited, with Devanagari-based orthography and lexicon
|url=https://hdl.handle.net/1885/109195
|journal=Journal of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society
|issue=9
|pages=130–199
|hdl=1885/109195
}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* {{phoible|ʍ}}
* {{phoible|w̥}}

{{IPA navigation}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Voiceless labial-velar fricative}}
[[Category:Velar consonants]]
[[Category:Labialized consonants]]
[[Category:Co-articulated consonants]]
[[Category:Voiceless oral consonants]]
[[Category:Central consonants]]
[[Category:Pulmonic consonants]]
[[Category:Approximant-fricative consonants]]
[[Category:Voiceless labially co-articulated approximants]]