Velar ejective

Velar ejective
kʼ
IPA number	109 + 401
Encoding
Entity (decimal)	k​ʼ
Unicode (hex)	U+006B U+02BC
X-SAMPA	k_>
Kirshenbaum	k`
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Sound
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The velar ejective is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨kʼ⟩.

Features

Features of the velar ejective:

• Its manner of articulation is occlusive, which means it is produced by obstructing airflow in the vocal tract. Since the consonant is also oral, with no nasal outlet, the airflow is blocked entirely, and the consonant is a stop.
• Its place of articulation is velar, which means it is articulated with the back of the tongue at the soft palate.
• Its phonation is voiceless, which means it is produced without vibrations of the vocal cords.
• 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 ejective (glottalic egressive), which means the air is forced out by pumping the glottis upward.

Occurrence

Language		Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Abkhaz		акы	[akʼə]	'one'
Adyghe	Temirgoy	шкӏэ	[ʃkʼa]	'calf'
	Shapsug	кӏьапсэ	[kʲʼaːpsa]	'rope'	Palatalized. Corresponds to [t͡ʃʼ] in other dialects.
Archi		кIан	[kʼan]	'bottom'
Armenian	Yerevan dialect	կեղծ	[kʼɛʁt͡sʼ]	'false'	Corresponds to tenuis [k⁼] in other Eastern dialects.
English	Non-local Dublin	back	[bakʼ]	'back'	Allophone of /k/ for some speakers.
	Northern English				Pre-pausal allophone of /k/ for some speakers; may be somewhat palatalised. See English phonology
	Southern English
	Scottish				Occasional word-final allophone of /k/.
Georgian		კაბა	[kʼaba]	'dress'
Haida		ttsanskkaagid	[tsʼanskʼaːkit]	'beams'
Hausa		ƙoƙari	[kʼòːkʼɐ̄ɾī]	'effort'
Kabardian	Baslaney	кӏьэ	[kʲʼa]	'tail'	Palatalized. Corresponds to [t͡ʃʼ] in other dialects.
Lezgian		кIир	[kʼir]	'fang'

See also

• List of phonetics topics