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Sonorants are sounds such as vowels and nasals that are voiced in most of the world's languages. However, in some languages sonorants may be voiceless, usually allophonically. For example, the Japanese word sukiyaki is pronounced [sɯ̥kijaki] and may sound like [skijaki] to an English speaker, but the lips can be seen to compress for the [ɯ̥].
The International Phonetic Alphabet has distinct letters for many voiceless and voiced pairs of consonants (the obstruents), such as [p b], [t d], [k ɡ], [q ɢ]. In addition, there is a diacritic for voicedness: ̬ . Diacritics are typically used with letters for prototypically voiceless sounds.
The voiceless bilabial plosive or stop is a type of consonantal sound used in most spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is p , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is p .
A voiceless postalveolar fricative is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages.The International Phonetic Association uses the term voiceless postalveolar fricative only for the sound [ ʃ ], [1] but it also describes the voiceless postalveolar non-sibilant fricative [ɹ̠̊˔], for which there are significant perceptual differences.
If the vocal cords are completely relaxed, with the arytenoid cartilages apart for maximum airflow, the cords do not vibrate. This is voiceless phonation, and is extremely common with obstruents. If the arytenoids are pressed together for glottal closure, the vocal cords block the airstream, producing stop sounds such as the glottal stop.
The voiceless velar plosive or stop is a type of consonantal sound used in almost all spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is k , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is k. The [k] sound is a very common sound cross-linguistically.
A voiceless alveolar affricate is a type of affricate consonant pronounced with the tip or blade of the tongue against the alveolar ridge (gum line) just behind the teeth. This refers to a class of sounds, not a single sound. There are several types with significant perceptual differences:
The voiceless dental plosive can be distinguished with the underbridge diacritic, t̪ and the postalveolar with a retraction line, t̠ , and the Extensions to the IPA have a double underline diacritic which can be used to explicitly specify an alveolar pronunciation, t͇ . The [t] sound is a very common sound cross-linguistically. [1]