| Nasal labial–velar approximant | |
|---|---|
| w̃ |
The nasal labial–velar approximant is a type of consonantal sound used in some languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨w̃⟩, that is, a w with a tilde. The equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is w~.
The nasal approximants and may also be called nasal glides. In some languages like Portuguese, they form a second element of nasal diphthongs.
Features
Features of the nasal labial–velar approximant:
- Its manner of articulation is approximant, which means it is produced by narrowing the vocal tract at the place of articulation, but not enough to produce a turbulent airstream.
- Its place of articulation is labial–velar, which means it is simultaneously articulated with the lips and with the back part of the tongue (the dorsum) against the soft palate (the velum). The dorsal closure is made and released slightly before the labial closure, but they overlap for most of their duration.
- Its phonation is voiced, which means the vocal cords vibrate during the articulation.
- It is a nasal consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the nose, either exclusively (nasal stops) or in addition to through the mouth.
- 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.
- Its airstream mechanism is pulmonic, which means it is articulated by pushing air solely with the intercostal muscles and abdominal muscles, as in most sounds.
Occurrence
| Language | Word | IPA | Meaning | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kaingang | 'to see' | Possible word-initial realization of /w/ before a nasal vowel. | |||
| Polish | są | 'they are' | See Polish phonology | ||
| Portuguese | Most dialects | são | 'saint', 'they are' | Allophone of /w/ after nasal vowels. See Portuguese phonology | |
| Some dialects | muamba | 'smuggling', 'jobbery', 'stash' |
Non-syllabic allophone of /u/ between nasal sounds. | ||
| Marathi | संशय | 'doubt' | Anuswara (ṁ) preceding र (r), व (v), श (ś), ष (ṣ), स (s), ह (h) or ज्ञ (jñ/dnya) is rendered as 'w̃'. | ||
| Seri | cmiique | 'person' | Allophone of /m/ | ||
| Shipibo | banwan | 'parrot' | Allophone of /w/ after nasal vowels. | ||
| Uwa | táw̃aya | 'yellow' | |||
| Yoruba | wọ́n | 'they' | Allophone of /w/ before nasal vowels. | ||
See also
- Palatal nasal
- Nasal palatal approximant
- Labiodental nasal, which may be an approximant in the one language in which it is phonemic
- Voiceless nasal glottal approximant
- Index of phonetics articles
Notes
- Jolkesky (2009:676, 681)
- Jolkesky (2009:681)
- Cruz-Ferreira (1995:127)
- Bisol (2005:179)
- Portuguese vinho: diachronic evidence for biphonemic nasal vowels
- ^ Valenzuela, Márquez Pinedo & Maddieson (2001:283)
- "Shipibo language, alphabet and pronunciation". www.omniglot.com. Retrieved 2019-11-27.
References
- Bisol, Leda (2005), Introdução a estudos de fonologia do português brasileiro (in Portuguese), Porto Alegre - Rio Grande do Sul: EDIPUCRS, ISBN 85-7430-529-4
- Cruz-Ferreira, Madalena (1995), "European Portuguese", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 25 (2): 90–94, doi:10.1017/S0025100300005223, S2CID 249414876
- Jolkesky, Marcelo Pinho de Valhery (2009), "Fonologia e prosódia do Kaingáng falado em Cacique Doble", Anais do SETA, 3, Campinas: Editora do IEL-UNICAMP: 675–685
- Valenzuela, Pilar M.; Márquez Pinedo, Luis; Maddieson, Ian (2001), "Shipibo", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 31 (2): 281–285, doi:10.1017/S0025100301002109
