The voiced velar fricative is a type of consonantal sound that is used in various spoken languages. It is not found in most varieties of Modern English but existed in Old English.[1] The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨ɣ⟩, a Latinized variant of the Greek letter gamma, ⟨γ⟩, which has this sound in Modern Greek. It should not be confused with the graphically-similar ⟨ɤ⟩, the IPA symbol for a close-mid back unrounded vowel, which some writings[2] use for the voiced velar fricative.
Voiced velar fricative | |||
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ɣ | |||
IPA Number | 141 | ||
Audio sample | |||
source · help | |||
Encoding | |||
Entity (decimal) | ɣ | ||
Unicode (hex) | U+0263 | ||
X-SAMPA | G | ||
Braille | |||
|
Voiced velar tapped fricative | |
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ɡ̞̆ | |
ɣ̆ |
The symbol ⟨ɣ⟩ is also sometimes used to represent the velar approximant, which, however, is more accurately written with the lowering diacritic: [ɣ̞] or [ɣ˕]. The IPA also provides a dedicated symbol for a velar approximant, [ɰ].
There is also a voiced post-velar fricative, also called pre-uvular, in some languages. For the voiced pre-velar fricative, also called post-palatal, see voiced palatal fricative.
A voiced velar tapped fricative has been reported in Dàgáárè, which is a previously unattested sound in human language.
Features of the voiced velar fricative:
Some of the consonants listed as post-velar may actually be trill fricatives.
Language | Word | IPA | Meaning | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Abaza | бгъьы/bğë | [bɣʲə] | 'leaf' | ||
Adyghe | чъыгы/čëğë | 'tree' | |||
Albanian | Arbëresh
Moresian (Pelloponesian) dialects of Arvanitika |
gliata | [ɣliɑtɑ] | 'tall' | |
Alekano | gamó | [ɣɑmɤʔ] | 'cucumber' | ||
Aleut | agiitalix | [aɣiːtalix] | 'with' | ||
Angor | ranih |
[ɾɑniɣə] | 'brother' | ||
Angas | γür | [ɣyr] | 'to pick up' | ||
Arabic | Modern Standard[3] | غريب/ğarīb | 'stranger' | May be velar, post-velar or uvular, depending on dialect.[4] See Arabic phonology | |
Aragonese | augua | [ˈawɣwa] | 'water' | Allophone of /ɡ/ | |
Aromanian | ghini | [ˈɣi.ni] | 'well' | Allophone of /ɡ/ | |
Aramaic | Eastern | ܦܓ̣ܪܐ paġrā | [pʌɣrɑ] | 'body' | Allophone of /x/ before voiced consonants. |
Western | [fʌɣrɔ] | ||||
Asturian | gadañu | [ɣaˈd̪ãɲʊ] | 'scythe' | Allophone of /ɡ/ in almost all positions | |
Azerbaijani | Northern | oğul | [oɣul] | 'son' | |
Southern | اوغول/oğul | ||||
Basque[5] | hego | [heɣo] | 'wing' | Allophone of /ɡ/ | |
Belarusian | галава/ğalava | [ɣalaˈva] | 'head' | ||
Catalan[6] | agrat | [ɐˈɣɾɑt] | 'liking' | Fricative or approximant. Allophone of /ɡ/. See Catalan phonology | |
Central Alaskan Yup'ik | auga | [ˈauːɣa] | 'his/her/its blood' | Never occurs in word-initial positions. | |
Chechen | гӀала / ğala | [ɣaːla] | 'town' | ||
Chinese | Mandarin (Dongping dialect) | 俺/Ǎn | [ɣän55] | 'I' | |
Xiang | 湖南/húnán | [ɣu˩˧nia˩˧] | 'Hunan (province)' | ||
Czech | bych byl | [bɪɣ bɪl] | 'I would be' | Allophone of /x/ before voiced consonants. See Czech phonology. Occurs only in few Moravian dialects and even there it is rather /ɦ/ | |
Dàgáárè | [pɔ́ɣ̆ɔ́] | 'woman' | May be a velar with strong tap-like features.[7] | ||
Dinka | ɣo | [ɣo] | 'us' | ||
Dogrib | weqa[clarification needed] | [weɣa] | 'for' | ||
Dutch | Standard Belgian[8][9] | gaan | [ɣaːn] | 'to go' | May be post-palatal [ʝ̠] instead.[9] See Dutch phonology |
Southern accents[9] | |||||
English | Scouse | grass | [ɣrɑ:s] | 'grass' | Allophone of /g/. See British English phonology[10] |
Northumbrian | [example needed] | Burr[11] | |||
Georgian[12] | ღარიბი/ğaribi | [ɣɑribi] | 'poor' | May actually be post-velar or uvular | |
German[13][14][failed verification] | Austrian | damalige | [ˈdaːmaːlɪɣə] | 'former' | Intervocalic allophone of /ɡ/ in casual speech.[13][14] See Standard German phonology |
Ghari | cheghe | [tʃeɣe] | 'five' | ||
Greek | γάλα/gála | [ˈɣala] | 'milk' | See Modern Greek phonology | |
Gujarati | વાઘણ/vağaŕn | [ʋɑ̤̈ɣəɽ̃] | 'tigress' | See Gujarati phonology | |
Gweno | ndeghe | [ndeɣe] | 'bird' | ||
Gwich’in | videeghàn | [viteːɣân] | 'his/her chest' | ||
Haitian Creole | diri | [diɣi] | 'rice' | ||
Hän | dëgëghor | [təkəɣor] | 'I am playing' | ||
Hebrew | Classical | מִגְדָּל/miğdol | [miɣdɔl] | '[a] tower' | |
Some Modern speakers (usually with a difficulty pronouncing [ʁ]) | שׁוֹמֵר/shomer | [ʃo̞ˈme̞ɣ] | '[a male] guard', '[he] guards' | [ʃo̞ˈme̞ʁ] by other Modern speakers | |
Hindustani | Hindi[15] | ग़रीब/garib | 'poor' | Post-velar,[15] conservative Hindi speakers usually replace it with /g/. See Hindustani phonology | |
Urdu | غریب/gharib | ||||
Icelandic | saga | [ˈsaːɣa] | 'saga' | See Icelandic phonology | |
Irish | a dhorn | [ə ɣoːɾˠn̪ˠ] | 'his fist' | See Irish phonology | |
Istro-Romanian[16] | gură | [ˈɣurə] | 'mouth' | Corresponds to [ɡ][in which environments?] in standard Romanian. See Romanian phonology | |
Iwaidja | [mulaɣa] | 'hermit crab' | |||
Japanese[17] | はげ/hage | [haɣe] | 'baldness' | Allophone of /ɡ/, especially in fast or casual speech. See Japanese phonology | |
Judeo-Spanish | gato | [ˈɣ̞ato̪][18] | 'cat' | ||
Haketia | gher | [ɣeɾ] | 'only' | appears as a phoneme in words from Arabic[19] | |
Kabardian | гын/gyn | 'powder' | |||
Komering | harong | [haɣoŋ] | 'charcoal' | ||
Lezgian | гъел/ğel | [ɣel] | 'sleigh' | ||
Lhaovo | Dago’ | qid | [ɣìt] | 'water' | |
Yunnan | [ɣək˧˩] | ||||
Limburgish[20][21] | gaw | [ɣɑ̟β̞] | 'quick' | The example word is from the Maastrichtian dialect. | |
Lishan Didan | Urmi Dialect | עוטג/otogh | [ˠotʰoɣ] | 'room' | Generally post-velar |
Lithuanian | humoras | [ˈɣʊmɔrɐs̪] | 'humor' | Preferred over [ɦ]. See Lithuanian phonology | |
Low German[22] | gaan | [ˈɣɔ̃ːn] | 'to go' | Increasingly replaced with High German [ɡ] | |
Malay | Standard | ghaib | [ɣai̯b] | 'unseen' | Mostly in loanwords from Arabic. Indonesians tend to replace the sound with /ɡ/. |
Johor-Riau | ramai | [ɣamai̯] | 'crowded (with people)' | /r/ before a vowel was traditionally a [ɣ] but now the alveolar tap [ɾ] is quite common amongst younger speakers possibly due to influence by Standard Malay. See Malay phonology | |
Kelantan-Pattani | [ɣamaː] | /r/ in Standard Malay is barely articulated in almost all of the Malay dialects in Malaysia. Usually it is uttered as guttural R at initial and medial position of a word. See Malay phonology | |||
Terengganu | |||||
Negeri Sembilan | [ɣamai̯] | ||||
Pahang | [ɣamɛ̃ː] | ||||
Sarawak | [ɣamɛː] | ||||
Macedonian | Berovo accent | дувна/duvna | [ˈduɣna] | 'it blew' | Corresponds to etymological /x/ of other dialects, before sonorants. See Maleševo-Pirin dialect and Macedonian phonology |
Bukovo accent | глава/glava | [ˈɡɣa(v)a] | 'head' | Allophone of /l/ instead of usual [ɫ]. See Prilep-Bitola dialect | |
Mi'kmaq | nisaqan | [nisaɣan] | 'weir' | Allophone of /x/ between sonorants. See Mi'kmaq language § Phonology. | |
Navajo | ’aghá | [ʔaɣa] | 'best' | ||
Neapolitan | Central Lucanian (Accettura dialect) | chiahäte | [kjaˈɣɜ tə][23] | 'wounded' | Corresponds to /g/ in Standard Italian. The example "chiahäte" translates to "piagato" in Italian. |
Nepali | कागज/kağdz | [käɣʌ(d)z] | 'paper' | Allophone of /ɡ/ and /ɡʱ/ in intervocalic positions. See Nepali phonology | |
Ngwe | Mmockngie dialect | [nøɣə̀] | 'sun' | ||
Northern Qiang | hhnesh | [ɣnəʂ] | 'February' | ||
Norwegian | Urban East[24] | å ha | [ɔ ˈɣɑː] | 'to have' | Possible allophone of /h/ between two back vowels; can be voiceless [x] instead.[24] See Norwegian phonology |
Occitan | Gascon | digoc | [diˈɣuk] | 'said' (3rd pers. sg.) | |
Okanagan | ɣəɣicɣc | [ɣəɣitʃɣtʃ] | 'Sparrow hawk' | ||
Pashto | غاتر/ğatër | [ɣɑtər] | 'mule' | ||
Pela | [ɣɔ˥] | 'to rain' | |||
Persian | باغ/bac | [bɒːɣ] | 'garden' | ||
Polish | niechże | [ˈɲɛɣʐɛ] | 'let' (imperative particle) | Allophone of /x/ before voiced consonants. See Polish phonology | |
Portuguese | European[25][26] | agora | [ɐˈɣɔɾɐ] | 'now' | Allophone of /ɡ/. See Portuguese phonology |
Some Brazilian dialects[27] | mármore | [ˈmaɣmuɾi] | 'marble', 'sill' | Allophone of rhotic consonant (voiced equivalent to [x], itself allophone of /ʁ/) between voiced sounds, most often as coda before voiced consonants. | |
Punjabi | Gurmukhi | ਗ਼ਰੀਬ/carib | [ɣ̄əriːb] | 'poor' | |
Shahmukhi | غریب/ġarrīb | ||||
Romani | γoines | [ɣoines] | 'good' | ||
Russian | Southern | дорога/doroga | [dɐˈro̞ɣə] | 'road' | Corresponds to /ɡ/ in standard |
Standard | угу/ugu | [ʊˈɣu] | 'uh-huh' | Usually nasal, /ɡ/ is used when spoken. See Russian phonology | |
горох же / goroh že | [ɡʌˈroɣ ʐe] | 'the peas' | Allophone of /x/ before voiced consonants.[28] | ||
Sakha | аҕа/ağa | [aɣa] | 'father' | ||
Sardinian | Nuorese dialect | súghere | [ˈsuɣɛrɛ] | 'to suck' | Allophone of /ɡ/ |
Scottish Gaelic | laghail | [ɫ̪ɤɣal] | 'lawful' | See Scottish Gaelic phonology | |
Serbo-Croatian[29] | ovih bi | [ǒ̞ʋiɣ bi] | 'of these would' | Allophone of /x/ before voiced consonants.[29] See Serbo-Croatian phonology | |
S'gaw Karen | ဂ့ၤ/ghei | [ɣei] | 'good' | ||
Sindhi | غم/camu | [ɣəmʊ] | 'sadness' | ||
Slovene | Standard | h gori | [ˈɣ‿ɡɔ̀ːɾí] | 'to the mountain' | Allophone of /x/ before voiced obstruents. See Slovene phonology |
Some dialects | gajba | [ˈɣáːjbà] | 'crate' | Corresponds to /ɡ/ in Standard Slovene. See Slovene phonology | |
Spanish | amigo | [a̠ˈmiɣo̟] | 'friend' | Ranges from close fricative to approximant.[30] Allophone of /ɡ/, see Spanish phonology | |
Swahili | ghali | [ɣali] | 'expensive' | ||
Swedish | Västerbotten Norrland dialects | meg | [mɪːɣ] | 'me' | Allophone of /ɡ/. Occurs between vowels and in word-final positions.[31] Here also /∅/ in Kalix. |
Tadaksahak | zog | [zoɣ] | 'war' | ||
Tajik | ғафс/cafs | [ɣafs] | 'thick' | ||
Tamazight | aɣilas (aghilas) | [aɣilas] | 'leopard' | ||
Tamil | Brahmin Tamil (non-standard) | முகம் | [muɣəm] | 'face' | Not very common |
Turkish | Non-standard | ağaç | [aɣat͡ʃ] | 'tree' | Deleted in most dialects. See Turkish phonology |
Tutchone | Northern | ihghú | [ihɣǔ] | 'tooth' | |
Southern | ghra | [ɣra] | 'baby' | ||
Tyap | ghan | [ˈɣan] | 'to hurry' | ||
Uzbek[32] | ёмғир / yomgʻir/yamğır | [ʝɒ̜mˈʁ̟ɨɾ̪] | 'rain' | Post-velar.[32] | |
Vietnamese[33] | ghế | [ɣe˧˥] | 'chair' | See Vietnamese phonology | |
West Frisian | drage | [ˈdraːɣə] | 'to carry' | Never occurs in word-initial positions. | |
Yi | ꊋ/we | [ɣɤ˧] | 'win' | ||
Zhuang | Lwg roegbit | [lɯ˧ ɣo˧pi˥] | 'Wild duckling' |
Between voiced sounds dotless g is pronounced [ɣ], a voiced velar spirant. This sound became [w] in Middle English, so English no longer has it.