Voiceless velar affricate

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

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.

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

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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.
  • 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

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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] 크다 (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

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Notes

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  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

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  • 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
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