Velar approximant

For the Armenian letter պ, see Armenian alphabet.

Not to be confused with Labio-velar approximant.

Velar approximant
ɰ
ɣ̞
IPA number	154
Encoding
Entity (decimal)	ɰ
Unicode (hex)	U+0270
X-SAMPA	M\
Kirshenbaum	j<vel>
Braille

The voiced velar approximant is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨ɰ⟩. It is the semivocalic counterpart of the close back unrounded vowel [ɯ].

The IPA symbol ⟨ɣ⟩, which otherwise signifies a voiced velar fricative, is more commonly used for the velar approximant than ⟨ɰ⟩ is, with a lowering diacritic ⟨ɣ̞⟩ when specificity is required.

Features

Features of the velar approximant:

• Its manner of articulation is approximant, which means it is produced by narrowing the vocal tract at the place of articulation, but not enough to produce a turbulent airstream.
• Its place of articulation is velar, which means it is articulated with the back of the tongue at the soft palate.
• Its phonation is voiced, which means the vocal cords vibrate during the articulation.
• 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 lungs and diaphragm, as in most sounds.

Occurrence

Language		Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Cherokee		ᏩᏥ wa-tsi	[ɰatsi]	'watch'	Also represented by Ꮺ, Ꮻ, Ꮼ, Ꮽ, and Ꮾ
Danish	Older speakers	talg	[ˈtˢalˀɰ]	'tallow'	Still used by some older speakers in high register, much more commonly than a fricative [ɣ]. Depending on the environment, it corresponds to [ʊ̯], [ɪ̯] or [j] in young speakers of contemporary Standard Danish. See Danish phonology
Dutch	Randstad				A very rare pronunciation of /r/, distribution unclear. Realization of /r/ varies considerably among dialects. See Dutch phonology
	Southern Netherlandic
French	Belgian	ara	[aɰa]	'macaw'	Intervocalic allophone of /ʀ/ for some speakers, unless /ʀ/ is realized as a liaison consonant – then it's most often pronounced [ʀ]. See French phonology
Greek	Cypriot	μαγαζί	[maɰaˈzi]	'shop'	Allophone of /ɣ/
Guarani		Gyresia	[ɰɨˈɾe̞sia]	'Greece'	Contrasts with [w]
Ibibio		[úfʌ̟̀ɰɔ̞]			Intervocalic allophone of /k/; may be a uvular tap [ɢ̆] instead.
Icelandic		saga	[ˈsaɰa]	'saga'	See Icelandic phonology
Irish		naoi	[n̪ˠɰiː]	'nine'	Occurs only between broad consonants and front vowels. See Irish phonology
Korean		의사/uisa	[ɰi.sä]	'doctor'	Occurs only before /i/. See Korean phonology
Ripuarian	Colognian	wing	[ɰɪŋ]	'wine'	Allophone of syllable-initial /v/ for some speakers; can be [β ~ ʋ ~ w] instead. See Colognian phonology
Spanish		pagar	[päˈɰäɾ]	'to pay'	Also described as a fricative. Intervocalic allophone of /ɡ/. See Spanish phonology
Swedish	Central Standard	agronom	[äɰɾʊˈn̪oːm]	'agronomist'	Allophone of /g/ in casual speech. See Swedish phonology
Tagalog		igriega	[iːɡɾɪˈje̞ɰɐ]	'letter y'	See Tagalog phonology
Tiwi		ngaga	[ˈŋaɰa]	'we (inclusive)'
Turkish		ağır	[a'ɰɯɾ]	'heavy'	Only occurs before back vowels, in careful pronunciation. Represented by the letter ğ. See Turkish phonology

The sound in Japanese often denoted by ⟨w⟩ in IPA notation and described as unrounded is actually pronounced with lip compression and is therefore labio-velar, albeit with acoustic differences from other labio-velar consonants.

See also

• Index of phonetics articles
• Voiceless velar approximant