Voiced velar affricate

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Voiced velar affricate
ɡɣ
Encoding
X-SAMPAg_G
Listen

The voiced velar affricate is a type of consonantal sound, used in very few spoken languages. The symbols in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represent this sound are ⟨ɡ͡ɣ⟩ and ⟨ɡ͜ɣ⟩, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is g_G. The tie bar is sometimes omitted, yielding ⟨ɡɣ⟩ in the IPA and gG 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.

The voiced velar affricate has not been reported to occur phonemically in any language.

Features[edit]

Features of the voiced 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 (the dorsum) at the soft palate.
  • Its phonation is voiced, which means the vocal cords vibrate during the articulation.
  • 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[edit]

Language Word IPA Meaning Notes
English Broad Cockney[1] good [ˈɡ͡ɣʊˑd̥] 'good' Occasional allophone of /ɡ/.[2][3] See English phonology
Received Pronunciation[3]
Scouse[4] Possible syllable-initial and word-final allophone of /ɡ/.[4] See English phonology

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Wells (1982), pp. 322-323.
  2. ^ Wells (1982), p. 323.
  3. ^ a b Gimson (2014), p. 172.
  4. ^ a b Wells (1982), p. 372.

References[edit]

  • Gimson, Alfred Charles (2014), Cruttenden, Alan, ed., Gimson's Pronunciation of English (8th ed.), Routledge, ISBN 9781444183092
  • Wells, John C. (1982). "Accents of English 2: The British Isles". Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-24224-X.