Labial–coronal consonant
Type of doubly articulated consonant / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A labial–coronal consonant is a consonant produced with two simultaneous articulators: with the lips ('labial'; a [p], [b], or [m] sound), and with the tongue (at the gums, an 'alveolar' [t], [d], or [n] sound, or further back, a 'post-alveolar' [ʃ], [ʒ] sound).
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Several languages have been claimed to have such sounds, such as Margi and Bura in Nigeria. However, most researchers interpret them as having sequences of labial and coronal consonants, a rather common occurrence in Africa. The Yélî Dnye language[1][2] of Rossel Island, Papua New Guinea, appears to be unique in having distinct labial–alveolar and labial–postalveolar places of articulation, as illustrated below. (The alveolars are fronted, and the post-alveolars only slightly retracted, so it may be best not to consider the latter to be retroflex as they are sometimes described.)
Stops in Yelî Dnye | Bilabial | Alveolar | Postalveolar | Velar | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Stop | paa | side | taa | knife | t̠oo | tongue | kaa | spear |
Prenasalized stop | ᵐbee | carry | ⁿde | food | n̠d̠e | firewood | ᵑɡaa | tree |
Nasal | maa | road | nii | juice | n̠aa | feast | ŋa | lease |
Stops in Yelî Dnye | Labial-alveolar | Labial–postalveolar | Labial–velar | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Stop | t͡pənə | lung | t̠͡pənə | horn | k͡pene | coconut bag |
Prenasalized stop | n͡md͡boo | pulp | n̠͡md̠͡boo | many | ŋ͡mɡ͡bo | fog |
Nasal | n͡mo | bird | n̠͡mo | we | ŋ͡mo | breast |