VOICELESS LABIAL-VELAR PLOSIVE

The 'voiceless labial-velar plosive' is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is .
The voiceless labial-velar plosive is commonly found in West and Central Africa. To pronounce it, try saying [k], but simultaneously close your lips as you would for [p].

Contents

Features

See also

Features

Features of the voiceless labial-velar plosive:

★ Its manner of articulation is plosive or stop, which means it is produced by obstructing airflow in the vocal tract.

★ Its place of articulation is labial-velar, which means it is articulated with both 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 type is voiceless, which means the vocal cords do not vibrate 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.

See also

★ List of phonetics topics

★ Doubly articulated consonant