Doubly articulated consonant
Encyclopedia
Doubly articulated consonants are consonants with two simultaneous primary places of articulation
of the same manner
(both plosive, or both nasal, etc.). They are a subset of co-articulated consonant
s. They are to be distinguished from co-articulated consonants with secondary articulation
, that is, a second articulation not of the same manner. An example of a doubly articulated consonant is the voiceless labial–velar plosive [k͡p], which is a [k] and a [p] pronounced simultaneously. On the other hand, the voiceless labialized velar plosive [kʷ] has only a single stop articulation, velar
([k]), with a simultaneous approximant-like
rounding of the lips. In some dialects of Arabic
, the voiceless velar fricative
[x] has a simultaneous uvular trill
, but this is not considered double articulation either.
, coronal
, dorsal
, and radical
. (The glottis
controls phonation
, and works simultaneously with many consonants. It is not normally considered an articulator, and an ejective
[kʼ], with simultaneous closure of the velum and glottis, is not considered a doubly articulated consonant.)
Approximants such as [w] and [ɥ] may be either doubly or secondarily articulated. For example, in English
, /w/ is a labialized velar that could be transcribed as [ɰʷ], but the Japanese /w/ is closer to a true labial–velar [ɰ͡β̞]. However, it is normal practice to use the symbols ⟨w⟩ and ⟨ɥ⟩ for the labialized approximants, and some linguists restrict the symbols to that usage. (See the article on approximants
.)
No claims have ever been made for doubly articulated flaps
or trills
, such as a simultaneous alveolar–uvular trill, *[ʀ͡r], and these are not expected to be found. Several claims have been made for doubly articulated fricatives
or affricates, most notoriously a Swedish
phoneme which has its own IPA symbol, ɧ. However, laboratory measurements have never succeeded in demonstrating simultaneous frication at two points of articulation, and such sounds turn out to be either secondary articulation, or a sequence of two non-simultaneous fricatives. (Despite its name, the "voiceless labial-velar fricative" [ʍ] is actually a voiceless approximant; the name is a historical remnant from before the distinction was made.) Such sounds can be made, with effort, but it is very difficult for a listener to discern them, and therefore they are not expected to be found as distinctive sounds in any language.
Clicks
are doubly articulated by definition: they involve a coronal (more rarely labial) forward articulation, or release, plus a dorsal closure that pulls double duty, both as the second place of articulation, and as the controlling mechanism of the velaric ingressive airstream. (Some of these clicks are uvular, rather than velar, but the term "velaric ingressive airstream" is used as the general term. See the article on clicks
.)
Place of articulation
In articulatory phonetics, the place of articulation of a consonant is the point of contact where an obstruction occurs in the vocal tract between an articulatory gesture, an active articulator , and a passive location...
of the same manner
Manner of articulation
In linguistics, manner of articulation describes how the tongue, lips, jaw, and other speech organs are involved in making a sound. Often the concept is only used for the production of consonants, even though the movement of the articulars will also greatly alter the resonant properties of the...
(both plosive, or both nasal, etc.). They are a subset of co-articulated consonant
Co-articulated consonant
Co-articulated consonants or complex consonants are consonants produced with two simultaneous places of articulation. They may be divided into two classes, doubly articulated consonants with two primary places of articulation of the same manner , and consonants with secondary articulation, that is,...
s. They are to be distinguished from co-articulated consonants with secondary articulation
Secondary articulation
Secondary articulation refers to co-articulated consonants where the two articulations are not of the same manner. The approximant-like secondary articulation is weaker than the primary, and colors it rather than obscuring it...
, that is, a second articulation not of the same manner. An example of a doubly articulated consonant is the voiceless labial–velar plosive [k͡p], which is a [k] and a [p] pronounced simultaneously. On the other hand, the voiceless labialized velar plosive [kʷ] has only a single stop articulation, velar
Velar consonant
Velars are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue against the soft palate, the back part of the roof of the mouth, known also as the velum)....
([k]), with a simultaneous approximant-like
Approximant consonant
Approximants are speech sounds that involve the articulators approaching each other but not narrowly enough or with enough articulatory precision to create turbulent airflow. Therefore, approximants fall between fricatives, which do produce a turbulent airstream, and vowels, which produce no...
rounding of the lips. In some dialects of Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
, the voiceless velar fricative
Voiceless velar fricative
The voiceless velar fricative is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. The sound was part of the consonant inventory of Old English and can still be found in some dialects of English, most notably in Scottish English....
[x] has a simultaneous uvular trill
Uvular trill
The uvular trill is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , a small capital R...
, but this is not considered double articulation either.
Possibilities for double articulation
There are four independently controllable articulations that may double up in the same manner of articulation: labialLabial consonant
Labial consonants are consonants in which one or both lips are the active articulator. This precludes linguolabials, in which the tip of the tongue reaches for the posterior side of the upper lip and which are considered coronals...
, coronal
Coronal consonant
Coronal consonants are consonants articulated with the flexible front part of the tongue. Only the coronal consonants can be divided into apical , laminal , domed , or subapical , as well as a few rarer orientations, because only the front of the tongue has such...
, dorsal
Dorsal consonant
Dorsal consonants are articulated with the mid body of the tongue . They contrast with coronal consonants articulated with the flexible front of the tongue, and radical consonants articulated with the root of the tongue.-Function:...
, and radical
Radical consonant
Radical consonants are those consonants articulated with the root of the tongue in the throat. This includes the pharyngeal, epiglottal, and epiglotto-pharyngeal places of articulation, though technically epiglottal consonants take place in the larynx....
. (The glottis
Glottal consonant
Glottal consonants, also called laryngeal consonants, are consonants articulated with the glottis. Many phoneticians consider them, or at least the so-called fricative, to be transitional states of the glottis without a point of articulation as other consonants have; in fact, some do not consider...
controls phonation
Phonation
Phonation has slightly different meanings depending on the subfield of phonetics. Among some phoneticians, phonation is the process by which the vocal folds produce certain sounds through quasi-periodic vibration. This is the definition used among those who study laryngeal anatomy and physiology...
, and works simultaneously with many consonants. It is not normally considered an articulator, and an ejective
Ejective consonant
In phonetics, ejective consonants are voiceless consonants that are pronounced with simultaneous closure of the glottis. In the phonology of a particular language, ejectives may contrast with aspirated or tenuis consonants...
[kʼ], with simultaneous closure of the velum and glottis, is not considered a doubly articulated consonant.)
Approximants such as [w] and [ɥ] may be either doubly or secondarily articulated. For example, in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, /w/ is a labialized velar that could be transcribed as [ɰʷ], but the Japanese /w/ is closer to a true labial–velar [ɰ͡β̞]. However, it is normal practice to use the symbols ⟨w⟩ and ⟨ɥ⟩ for the labialized approximants, and some linguists restrict the symbols to that usage. (See the article on approximants
Approximant consonant
Approximants are speech sounds that involve the articulators approaching each other but not narrowly enough or with enough articulatory precision to create turbulent airflow. Therefore, approximants fall between fricatives, which do produce a turbulent airstream, and vowels, which produce no...
.)
No claims have ever been made for doubly articulated flaps
Flap consonant
In phonetics, a flap or tap is a type of consonantal sound, which is produced with a single contraction of the muscles so that one articulator is thrown against another.-Contrast with stops and trills:...
or trills
Trill consonant
In phonetics, a trill is a consonantal sound produced by vibrations between the articulator and the place of articulation. Standard Spanish <rr> as in perro is an alveolar trill, while in Parisian French it is almost always uvular....
, such as a simultaneous alveolar–uvular trill, *[ʀ͡r], and these are not expected to be found. Several claims have been made for doubly articulated fricatives
Fricative consonant
Fricatives are consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together. These may be the lower lip against the upper teeth, in the case of ; the back of the tongue against the soft palate, in the case of German , the final consonant of Bach; or...
or affricates, most notoriously a Swedish
Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
phoneme which has its own IPA symbol, ɧ. However, laboratory measurements have never succeeded in demonstrating simultaneous frication at two points of articulation, and such sounds turn out to be either secondary articulation, or a sequence of two non-simultaneous fricatives. (Despite its name, the "voiceless labial-velar fricative" [ʍ] is actually a voiceless approximant; the name is a historical remnant from before the distinction was made.) Such sounds can be made, with effort, but it is very difficult for a listener to discern them, and therefore they are not expected to be found as distinctive sounds in any language.
Clicks
Click consonant
Clicks are speech sounds found as consonants in many languages of southern Africa, and in three languages of East Africa. Examples of these sounds familiar to English speakers are the tsk! tsk! or tut-tut used to express disapproval or pity, the tchick! used to spur on a horse, and the...
are doubly articulated by definition: they involve a coronal (more rarely labial) forward articulation, or release, plus a dorsal closure that pulls double duty, both as the second place of articulation, and as the controlling mechanism of the velaric ingressive airstream. (Some of these clicks are uvular, rather than velar, but the term "velaric ingressive airstream" is used as the general term. See the article on clicks
Click consonant
Clicks are speech sounds found as consonants in many languages of southern Africa, and in three languages of East Africa. Examples of these sounds familiar to English speakers are the tsk! tsk! or tut-tut used to express disapproval or pity, the tchick! used to spur on a horse, and the...
.)
Double articulation in stops
This leaves stops, and both oral and nasal doubly articulated stops are found. However, there is a great asymmetry in the places of their articulation. Of the six possible combinations of labial, coronal, dorsal, and radical, one is common, and the others vanishingly rare.- The common articulation is labial–dorsal, which is attested by labial–velar stops, such as the [k͡p] mentioned above. These are found throughout West and Central Africa, as well as eastern New Guinea.
- A second possibility, labial–coronal, is attested phonemically by labial–alveolar and labial–postalveolar in a single language, Yélî DnyeYélî Dnye languageThe Yélî Dnye language, also known as Yele, is the language of Rossel island, the easternmost island in the Louisiade Archipelago off the eastern tip of Papua New Guinea. For now it is best considered a language isolate, but it may turn out to be related to the Anêm and Ata language isolates of New...
of New Guinea. Some West African languages, such as DagbaniDagbani languageDagbani is a Gur language spoken in Ghana. Its native speakers are primarily of the Dagomba people, but Dagbani is also widely known as a first language in northern Ghana.-Vowels:Dagbani has eleven phonemic vowels: six short and five long vowels:...
& NzemaNzema languageNzema , also known as Appolo, is a Central Tano language spoken by the Nzema people of southwestern Ghana and southeast Côte d'Ivoire. It shares 60% intelligibility with Jwira-Pepesa and is close to Baoule.-References:...
, have labial–postalveolars as allophones of labial–velars before high front vowels.
- A third possibility, coronal–dorsal, is found marginally in a few languages. IsokoIsoko languageThe Isoko language is spoken in the Isoko region, Nigeria, by the Isoko people. It is linguistically similar to the neighboring Urhobo language, Epie atissa language of Bayelsa state and Engenni language of Rivers state.Michael A...
, in Nigeria, has laminalLaminal consonantA laminal consonant is a phone produced by obstructing the air passage with the blade of the tongue, which is the flat top front surface just behind the tip of the tongue on the top. This contrasts with apical consonants, which are produced by creating an obstruction with the tongue apex only...
dental stops (plosives and nasals) that, in some dialects, are realized as dental–palatal stops. However, these are not contrastive with either dental or palatal stops, unlike the articulations mentioned above, and Peter LadefogedPeter LadefogedPeter Nielsen Ladefoged was an English-American linguist and phonetician who traveled the world to document the distinct sounds of endangered languages and pioneered ways to collect and study data . He was active at the universities of Edinburgh, Scotland and Ibadan, Nigeria 1953–61...
considers them to be "accidental contacts in two regions", rather than being inherently double. HadzaHadza languageHadza is a language isolate spoken by fewer than a thousand Hadza people along the shores of Lake Eyasi in Tanzania, the last full-time hunter-gatherers in Africa. Despite the small number of speakers, language use is vigorous, with most children learning it...
has alveolar–palatal lateral affricates, but the dental contact is optional. Similarly, several languages of Australia, such as MaungMaung languageMaung is an Australian language of northernmost Australia. It's the Iwaidjan language with the largest number of speakers....
, have dental–palatals which are variants of laminal postalveolarsPostalveolar consonantPostalveolar consonants are consonants articulated with the tongue near or touching the back of the alveolar ridge, further back in the mouth than the alveolar consonants, which are at the ridge itself, but not as far back as the hard palate...
, with an "extended closure covering the entire region from the teeth to the hard palate". Note that in both cases, the double articulations are variants of laminal consonants, which have inherently broad contact with the roof of the mouth.
- The other three possibilities, which would involve the epiglottisEpiglottisThe epiglottis is a flap that is made of elastic cartilage tissue covered with a mucous membrane, attached to the entrance of the larynx. It projects obliquely upwards behind the tongue and the hyoid bone, pointing dorsally. The term, like tonsils, is often incorrectly used to refer to the uvula...
, had not been known until recently. However, with the advent of fiber-optic laryngoscopyLaryngoscopyLaryngoscopy is a medical procedure that is used to obtain a view of the vocal folds and the glottis. Laryngoscopy may be performed to facilitate tracheal intubation during general anesthesia or cardiopulmonary resuscitation or for procedures on the larynx or other parts of the upper...
, a greater variety of epiglottal and laryngeal activity has been found than had been expected. For example, the SomaliSomali languageThe Somali language is a member of the East Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Its nearest relatives are Afar and Oromo. Somali is the best documented of the Cushitic languages, with academic studies beginning before 1900....
/q/ was recently found to be a uvular–epiglottal consonant [q͡ʡ].http://ling.uta.edu/~jerry/best.pdf It is not known how widespread such sounds might be, or if epiglottal consonantEpiglottal consonantAn epiglottal consonant is a consonant that is articulated with the aryepiglottic folds against the epiglottis. They are occasionally called aryepiglottal consonants.-Epiglottal consonants in the IPA:...
s might combine with coronal or labial consonants.