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In phonetics and phonology, a semivowel, glide or semiconsonant is a sound that is phonetically similar to a vowel sound but functions as the syllable boundary, rather than as the nucleus of a syllable. [1] Examples of semivowels in English are y and w in yes and west, respectively.
Except in the case of syllabic consonants, [+syllabic] designates all vowels, while [−syllabic] designates all consonants (including glides). [+/− consonantal] [8] Consonantal segments are produced with an audible constriction in the vocal tract, such as obstruents, nasals, liquids, and trills.
The term glide emphasizes the characteristic of movement (or 'glide') of [j] from the vowel position to a following vowel position. The term semivowel emphasizes that, although the sound is vocalic in nature, it is not 'syllabic' (it does not form the nucleus of a syllable).
One use of the word semivowel, sometimes called a glide, is a type of approximant, pronounced like a vowel but with the tongue closer to the roof of the mouth, so that there is slight turbulence. [ citation needed ] In English, /w/ is the semivowel equivalent of the vowel /u/ , and /j/ (spelled "y") is the semivowel equivalent of the vowel /i ...
The voiced labial–palatal (or labio-palatal) approximant is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages, for example, French "huitième", read as [ɥitjɛm].
Consonants and vowels correspond to distinct parts of a syllable: The most sonorous part of the syllable (that is, the part that is easiest to sing [citation needed]), called the syllabic peak or nucleus, is typically a vowel, while the less sonorous margins (called the onset and coda) are typically consonants. Such syllables may be abbreviated ...
In the sonority hierarchy, liquids are considered the most sonorous sounds after vowels and glides, [4] with laterals considered to be less sonorous than rhotics. [5] This explains why they are more likely to be part of consonant clusters than other consonants (excluding glides), and to follow obstruents in initial consonant clusters and precede them in final consonant clusters.
A diphthong (/ ˈ d ɪ f θ ɒ ŋ, ˈ d ɪ p-/ DIF-thong, DIP-; [1] from Ancient Greek δίφθογγος (díphthongos) 'two sounds', from δίς (dís) 'twice' and φθόγγος (phthóngos) 'sound'), also known as a gliding vowel or a vowel glide, is a combination of two adjacent vowel sounds within the same syllable. [2]