Voiced bilabial fricative

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Voiced bilabial fricative
β
IPA number127
Encoding
Entity (decimal)β
Unicode (hex)U+03B2
X-SAMPAB
KirshenbaumB
Braille⠨ (braille pattern dots-46)⠃ (braille pattern dots-12)
Listen
Voiced bilabial approximant
β̞
Listen

The voiced bilabial fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨β⟩ (or more properly ⟨⟩), and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is B. The symbol ⟨β⟩ is the Greek letter beta.

This letter is also often used to represent the bilabial approximant, though that is more clearly written with a lowering diacritic, that is ⟨β̞⟩. Theoretically, it could also be transcribed as an advanced labiodental approximantʋ̟⟩, but this symbol is hardly ever, if at all, used so. It has been proposed that either a turned ⟨β⟩ or reversed ⟨β⟩ be used as a dedicated symbol for the bilabial approximant, but despite occasional usage this has not gained general acceptance.[1]

It is extremely rare for a language to make a phonemic contrast between the voiced bilabial fricative and the bilabial approximant. The Mapos Buang language of New Guinea contains this contrast. Its bilabial approximant is analyzed as filling a phonological gap in the labiovelar series of the consonant system rather than the bilabial series.[2]

The bilabial fricative is diachronically unstable and is likely to shift to [v].[3]

The sound is not used in English dialects except for Chicano English, but it can be produced by approximating the normal English [v] between the lips.

Features[edit]

Features of the voiced bilabial fricative:

Occurrence[edit]

Voiced bilabial fricative[edit]

Language Word IPA Meaning Notes
Akei [βati] 'four'
Alekano hanuva [hɑnɯβɑ] 'nothing'
Angor fufung [ɸuβuŋ] 'horn'
Bengali ভিসা [βisa] 'Visa' See Bengali phonology
Berta [βɑ̀lɑ̀ːziʔ] 'no'
Min Dong Chinese Fuzhou[4] / chĕ̤ báik [t͡sœ˥˧βaiʔ˨˦] 'eighth day of the month' Allophone of /p/ and /pʰ/ in certain intervocalic positions.[4]
Comorian [example needed] Contrasts with both [v] and [w]
Dahalo[5] [koːβo] 'to want' Weak fricative or approximant. It is a common intervocalic allophone of /b/, and may be simply a plosive [b] instead.[5]
English Chicano very [βɛɹi] 'very' May be realized as [b] instead.
Ewe[6] Eʋe [èβe] 'Ewe' Contrasts with both [v] and [w]
German[7][8] aber [ˈaːβɐ] 'but' Intervocalic and pre-lateral allophone of /b/ in casual speech.[7][8] See Standard German phonology
Hebrew אבל ['äˈβal] 'however'
Hopi tsivot [tsi:βot] 'five'
Kabyle bri [βri] 'to cut'
Kinyarwanda abana [aβana] 'children'
Korean /Jeonhwa/ [ˈt͡ɕɘːnβwa̠] 'telephone' Allophone of /h/. See Korean phonology
Luhya Nabongo [naβongo] 'king' Title of the king like Nabongo Mumia from the Wanga Dialect
Mapos Buang[2] venġévsën [βəˈɴɛβt͡ʃen] 'prayer' Mapos Buang has both a voiced bilabial fricative and a bilabial approximant as separate phonemes. The fricative is transcribed as {v}, and the approximant as {w}.[2]
Portuguese European[9][10] bado [ˈsaβɐðu] 'Saturday' Allophone of /b/. See Portuguese phonology
Ripuarian Colognian[citation needed] wing [βɪŋ] 'wine' Allophone of syllable-initial /v/ for some speakers; can be [ʋ ~ w ~ ɰ] instead.[citation needed] See Colognian phonology
Sardinian Logudorese dialect[11] paba About this sound[ˈpäːβä]  'pope' Intervocalic allophone of /b/ as well as word-initial /p/ when the preceding word ends with a vowel and there is no pause between the words.[11]
Turkish[12] vücut [βy̠ˈd͡ʒut̪] 'body' Allophone of /v/ before and after rounded vowels.[12] See Turkish phonology
Turkmen watan [βatan] 'country'
Zapotec Tilquiapan[13] [example needed] Allophone of /b/

Bilabial approximant[edit]

Language Word IPA Meaning Notes
Amharic[14] አበባ [aβ̞əβ̞a] 'flower' Allophone of /b/ medially between sonorants.[14]
Basque[15] alaba [alaβ̞a] 'daughter' Allophone of /b/
Catalan[16] rebost [rəˈβ̞ɔst] 'larder' Approximant or fricative. Allophone of /b/. Mainly found in betacist (/b/ and /v/ merging) dialects. See Catalan phonology
Japanese[17] 神戸市/be-shi [ko̞ːβ̞e̞ ɕi] 'Kobe' Allophone of /b/ only in fast speech between vowels. See Japanese phonology
Limburgish[18][19] wèlle [ˈβ̞ɛ̝lə] 'to want' The example word is from the Maastrichtian dialect.
Lombard el nava via [el 'naβ̞a 'β̞ia] 'he was going away' Regular pronunciation of /v/ when intervocalic. Used also as an allophone for other positions.
Mapos Buang[2] wabeenġ [β̞a.ˈᵐbɛːɴ] 'kind of yam' Mapos Buang has both a voiced bilabial fricative and a bilabial approximant as separate phonemes. The fricative is transcribed as {v}, and the approximant as {w}.[2]
Occitan Gascon la-vetz [laβ̞ets] 'then' Allophone of /b/
Ripuarian Kerkrade dialect[20] sjwaam [ʃβ̞aːm] 'smoke' Weakly rounded; contrasts with /v/.[20]
Spanish[21] lava [ˈläβ̞ä] 'lava' Ranges from close fricative to approximant.[22] Allophone of /b/. See Spanish phonology
Swedish Central Standard[23] aber [ˈɑːβ̞eɾ] 'problem' Allophone of /b/ in casual speech. See Swedish phonology
Ukrainian[24] вона [β̞oˈnɑ] 'she' An approximant; the most common prevocalic realization of /w/. Can vary with labiodental [ʋ].[24] See Ukrainian phonology

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ See for example Ball, Martin J.; Howard, Sara J.; Miller, Kirk (2018). "Revisions to the extIPA chart". Journal of the International Phonetic Association. 48 (2): 155–164. doi:10.1017/S0025100317000147.
  2. ^ a b c d e Mose Lung Rambok and Bruce Hooley (2010). Central Buang‒English Dictionary (PDF). Summer Institute of Linguistics Papua New Guinea Branch. ISBN 9980 0 3589 7.
  3. ^ Picard (1987:364), citing Pope (1966:92)
  4. ^ a b Zhuqing (2002:?)
  5. ^ a b Maddieson et al. (1993:34)
  6. ^ Ladefoged (2005:156)
  7. ^ a b Krech et al. (2009:108)
  8. ^ a b Sylvia Moosmüller (2007). "Vowels in Standard Austrian German: An Acoustic-Phonetic and Phonological Analysis" (PDF). p. 6. Retrieved March 9, 2013.. This source mentions only intervocalic [β].
  9. ^ Cruz-Ferreira (1995:92)
  10. ^ Mateus & d'Andrade (2000:11)
  11. ^ a b (Italian) http://www.antoninurubattu.it/rubattu/grammatica-sarda-italiano-sardo.html Archived 2015-01-01 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ a b Göksel & Kerslake (2005:6)
  13. ^ Merrill (2008:109)
  14. ^ a b Hayward & Hayward (1999:48)
  15. ^ Hualde (1991:99–100)
  16. ^ Wheeler (2005:10)
  17. ^ Okada (1991:95)
  18. ^ Gussenhoven & Aarts (1999:155)
  19. ^ Peters (2006:117)
  20. ^ a b Stichting Kirchröadsjer Dieksiejoneer (1997:17)
  21. ^ Martínez-Celdrán et al. (2003:257)
  22. ^ Phonetic studies such as Quilis (1981) have found that Spanish voiced stops may surface as spirants with various degrees of constriction. These allophones are not limited to regular fricative articulations, but range from articulations that involve a near complete oral closure to articulations involving a degree of aperture quite close to vocalization
  23. ^ Engstrand (2004:167)
  24. ^ a b Žovtobrjux & Kulyk (1965:121–122)

References[edit]