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IPA – number	154
IPA – text	ɰ
IPA – image
Entity	ɰ
X-SAMPA	M\
Kirshenbaum	j<vel>
Sound sample (help·info)

The velar approximant is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ɰ, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is M\.

Contents 1 Features 2 In English 3 In other languages 3.1 Cherokee 3.2 Spanish 3.3 French 4 See also

[edit] Features

Features of the velar approximant:

• Its manner of articulation is approximant, which means it is produced by bringing one articulator close to another but without the vocal tract being narrowed to such an extent that a turbulent airstream is produced.
• Its place of articulation is velar which means it is articulated with the back part of the tongue (the dorsum) against the soft palate (the velum).
• Its phonation type is voiced, which means the vocal cords are vibrating during the articulation.
• It is an oral consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth.
• It is a central consonant, which means it is produced by allowing the airstream to flow over the middle of the tongue, rather than the sides.
• The airstream mechanism is pulmonic egressive, which means it is articulated by pushing air out of the lungs and through the vocal tract, rather than from the glottis or the mouth.

[edit] In English

English does not have the velar approximant. However, it does have the similar labial-velar approximant [w]. [w] has two places of articulation, labial and velar, whereas [ɰ] has only one velar. To give some idea of how to pronounce [ɰ], try to make a "w" sound without the labial articulation; that is, without bringing the lips together.

[edit] In other languages

[edit] Cherokee

Cherokee has [ɰ] as a phoneme, although it is sometimes realized as its allophone [w]. It is usually Romanized as "w". In the Cherokee syllabary, it occurs in the following syllables: Ꮹ wa, Ꮺ we, Ꮻ wi, Ꮼ wo, Ꮽ wu, Ꮾ wv ([ɰə]).

[edit] Spanish

Spanish has [ɰ] as an allophone of /ɡ/, which is realised only as [ɡ] initially or after nasals, and as [ɰ] elsewhere (compare gato [ˈɡa.to] with el gato [el-ˈɰa.to]).

[edit] French

French has [ɰ] as an allophone of /ɡ/ before a vowel, like in ta gueule [ta͡ɰœl].

[edit] See also

• List of phonetics topics

Consonants (List, table)	See also: IPA, Vowels
Pulmonics Bilabial Lab'den. Dental Alveolar Postalv. Retroflex Palatal Velar Uvular Pharyn. Epiglottal Glottal Non-pulmonics and other symbols Nasals m ɱ n ɳ ɲ ŋ ɴ Clicks  ʘ ǀ ǃ ǂ ǁ Plosives p b • • t d ʈ ɖ c ɟ k ɡ q ɢ ʡ ʔ Implo­­sives  ɓ ɗ ʄ ɠ ʛ Fricatives ɸ β f v θ ð s z ʃ ʒ ʂ ʐ ç ʝ x ɣ χ ʁ ħ ʕ ʜ ʢ h ɦ Ejec­­tives  pʼ tʼ kʼ qʼ sʼ Approximants β̞ ʋ ɹ ɻ j ɰ Other laterals  ɺ ɫ Trills ʙ r • ʀ • Co-articulated approximants  ʍ w ɥ Flaps & Taps ѵ̟ ѵ ɾ ɽ • Co-articulated fricatives  ɕ ʑ ɧ Lat. Fricatives ɬ ɮ • • • Affricates  ʦ ʣ ʧ ʤ Lat. Appr'mants l ɭ ʎ ʟ Co-articulated stops  k͡p ɡ͡b ŋ͡m
This page contains phonetic information in IPA, which may not display correctly in some browsers. [Help] Where symbols appear in pairs, the one to the right represents a voiced consonant. Shaded areas denote pulmonic articulations judged impossible.

de:Stimmhafter velarer Approximant

fr:Consonne spirante vélaire voisée ja:軟口蓋接近音 sv:Velar approximant