Voiceless velar affricate

Summary

The voiceless velar affricate is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbols in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound are k͡x and k͜x, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is k_x. The tie bar may be omitted, yielding kx in the IPA and kx in X-SAMPA.

Voiceless velar affricate
kx
IPA Number109 140
Audio sample
source · help
Encoding
X-SAMPAk_x

Some languages have the voiceless pre-velar affricate,[1] which is articulated slightly more front compared with the place of articulation of the prototypical voiceless velar affricate, though not as front as the prototypical voiceless palatal affricate - see that article for more information.

Conversely, some languages have the voiceless post-velar affricate,[2] which is articulated slightly behind the place of articulation of the prototypical voiceless velar affricate, though not as back as the prototypical voiceless uvular affricate - see that article for more information.

Features edit

Features of the voiceless velar affricate:

  • Its manner of articulation is affricate, which means it is produced by first stopping the airflow entirely, then allowing air flow through a constricted channel at the place of articulation, causing turbulence.
  • Its place of articulation is velar, which means it is articulated with the back of the tongue (the dorsum) at the soft palate.
  • Its phonation is voiceless, which means it is produced without vibrations of the vocal cords. In some languages the vocal cords are actively separated, so it is always voiceless; in others the cords are lax, so that it may take on the voicing of adjacent sounds.
  • It is an oral consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth only.
  • 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.
  • The 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 edit

Language Word IPA Meaning Notes
Dutch Orsmaal-Gussenhoven dialect[3] blik [ˈblɪk͡x] 'plate' Optional pre-pausal allophone of /k/.[3]
Modern Greek Ancient Greek borrowings σάκχαρο [ˈsak͡xaro] '(blood) sugar'
English Broad Cockney[4] cab [ˈk͡xɛˑb̥] 'cab' Possible word-initial, intervocalic and word-final allophone of /k/.[5] See English phonology
New Zealand[6] Word-initial allophone of /k/.[6] See English phonology
North Wales[7] [ˈk͡xaˑb̥] Word-initial and word-final allophone of /k/; in free variation with a strongly aspirated stop [kʰ].[7] See English phonology
Received Pronunciation[8] Occasional allophone of /k/.[8] See English phonology
Scouse[9] Possible syllable-initial and word-final allophone of /k/.[9] See English phonology
German Standard Austrian[10] Kübel [ˈk͡xyːbœl] 'bucket' Possible realization of /k/ before front vowels.[10] See Standard German phonology
Bavarian dialects of Tyrol Kchind [ˈk͡xind̥] 'child'
Swiss dialects and Alemannic of southern Baden-Württemberg Sack [z̥ɑk͡x] 'bag' May be actually uvular [q͡χ] in some dialects.
Korean[11] (keuda) [k͡xɯ̽da] 'big' Allophone of /kʰ/ before /ɯ/.[11] See Korean phonology
Lakota lakhóta [laˈk͡xota] 'Lakota' Allophone of /kʰ/ before /a/, /ã/, /o/, /ĩ/, and /ũ/.
Navajo kǫʼ [k͡xõʔ˩] 'fire' Allophone of /kʰ/ before the back vowels /o, a/. See Navajo phonology
Slovene sikh [ˈs̪îːk͡x] 'Sikh' Very rare, occurring only in loanwords. See Slovene phonology
Xhosa [example needed] Represented by <krh>. Contrasts /kʼ, kʰ, ɡ̊ʱ, kxʼ, kxʰ, x, ɣ̈/. See Xhosa phonology.
!Xóõ [ǁ͡kxʼâã] 'grass' Used in pulmonic-contour clicks.

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Instead of "pre-velar", it can be called "advanced velar", "fronted velar", "front-velar", "palato-velar", "post-palatal", "retracted palatal" or "backed palatal".
  2. ^ Instead of "post-velar", it can be called "retracted velar", "backed velar", "pre-uvular", "advanced uvular" or "fronted uvular".
  3. ^ a b Peters (2010), p. 240.
  4. ^ Wells (1982), pp. 322–323.
  5. ^ Wells (1982), p. 323.
  6. ^ a b Bauer et al. (2007), p. 100.
  7. ^ a b Penhallurick (2004), pp. 108–109.
  8. ^ a b Cruttenden (2014), p. 172.
  9. ^ a b Wells (1982), p. 372.
  10. ^ a b Moosmüller, Schmid & Brandstätter (2015), p. 341.
  11. ^ a b Shin, Kiaer & Cha (2012), p. 77.

References edit

  • Bauer, Laurie; Warren, Paul; Bardsley, Dianne; Kennedy, Marianna; Major, George (2007), "New Zealand English", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 37 (1): 97–102, doi:10.1017/S0025100306002830
  • Cruttenden, Alan (2014), Gimson's Pronunciation of English (8th ed.), Routledge, ISBN 9781444183092
  • Moosmüller, Sylvia; Schmid, Carolin; Brandstätter, Julia (2015), "Standard Austrian German", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 45 (3): 339–348, doi:10.1017/S0025100315000055
  • Penhallurick, Robert (2004), "Welsh English: phonology", in Schneider, Edgar W.; Burridge, Kate; Kortmann, Bernd; Mesthrie, Rajend; Upton, Clive (eds.), A handbook of varieties of English, vol. 1: Phonology, Mouton de Gruyter, pp. 98–112, ISBN 3-11-017532-0
  • Peters, Jörg (2010), "The Flemish–Brabant dialect of Orsmaal–Gussenhoven", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 40 (2): 239–246, doi:10.1017/S0025100310000083
  • Shin, Ji-young; Kiaer, Ji-eun; Cha, Jae-eun (2012), The Sounds of Korean, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 9781107030053
  • Wells, John C. (1982), Accents of English 2: The British Isles, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-24224-X

External links edit

  • List of languages with [kx] on PHOIBLE