Voiceless labialized velar approximant

Voiceless labialized velar approximant
ʍ
w̥
IPA number	169
Encoding
Entity (decimal)	ʍ
Unicode (hex)	U+028D
X-SAMPA	W
Kirshenbaum	w<vls>
Braille
Image
Sound
source · help

The voiceless labialized velar (labiovelar) approximant (traditionally called a voiceless labiovelar fricative) is a type of consonantal sound, used in spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨ʍ⟩ (a rotated lowercase letter ⟨w⟩) or ⟨w̥⟩.

[ʍ] is generally called a "fricative" for historical reasons, but in English, the language that the letter ⟨ʍ⟩ is primarily used for, it is a voiceless approximant, equivalent to [w̥] or [hw̥]. On rare occasions the symbol is appropriated for a labialized voiceless velar fricative, [xʷ], in other languages.

Features

Features of the voiceless labial-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 labialized velar, which means it is articulated with the back part of the tongue raised toward the soft palate (the velum) while rounding the lips.
• 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 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
Chinese	Taiwanese Hokkien	沃花/ak-hue	[ʔak̚˥ʔ ʍeː˥˥]	'(to) water flowers'
Cornish		whath/hwath	[ʍæːθ]	'yet'
English	American Theater Standard	whine	[ʍaɪ̯n]	'whine'	Phonemically /hw/; contrasts with /w/. In General American and New Zealand English only some speakers maintain the distinction; in Britain, mostly heard in Irish and Scottish accents. See English phonology and phonological history of wh.
	Conservative Received Pronunciation
	Cultivated South African
	General American
	Irish		[ʍʌɪ̯n]
	Scottish
	Southern American		[ʍäːn]
	New Zealand		[ʍɑe̯n]
Hupa		tł'iwh	[t͡ɬʼiʍ]	'snake'	Contrasts with /w/
Italian	Tuscan	la qualifica	[lä ʍäˈliːfihä]	'the qualification'	Intervocalic allophone of /kw/. See Italian phonology
Nahuatl		Cuauhtēmallān	[kʷaʍteːmalːaːn]	'Guatemala'	Allophone of /w/ before voiceless consonants
Slovene		vse	[ˈʍsɛ]	'everything'	Allophone of /ʋ/ in the syllable onset before voiceless consonants, in free variation with a vowel [u]. Voiced [w] before voiced consonants. See Slovene phonology

See also

• Index of phonetics articles
• hwair
• Wh (digraph)
• Wine–whine merger