Voiceless labiodental approximant

The voiceless labiodental approximant is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. The symbols in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represent this sound are ⟨ʋ̥⟩ and ⟨f̞⟩, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbols are P_0 (or v\_0) and f_o.

The voiceless labiodental approximant is the typical realization of /f/ in the Indian South African variety of English. As the voiced /v/ is also realized as an approximant ([ʋ]), it is also an example of a language contrasting voiceless and voiced labiodental approximants.^[1]

Features

Features of the voiceless labiodental 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 labiodental, which means it is articulated with the lower lip and the upper teeth.

• Its phonation is voiceless, which means it is produced without vibrations of the vocal cords. In some languages the vocal cords are actively separated, so it is always voiceless; in others the cords are lax, so that it may take on the voicing of adjacent sounds.

• It is an oral consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth only.

• Because the sound is not produced with airflow over the tongue, the central–lateral dichotomy does not apply.

• The airstream mechanism is pulmonic, which means it is articulated by pushing air solely with the lungs and diaphragm, as in most sounds.

Occurrence

Notes

References