Voiceless palatal fricative

The voiceless palatal fricative is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨ç⟩, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is C. It is the non-sibilant equivalent of the voiceless alveolo-palatal fricative.

Voiceless palatal fricative
ç
IPA number	138
Audio sample
source · help
Encoding
Entity (decimal)	ç
Unicode (hex)	U+00E7
X-SAMPA	C
Braille
Image

Voiceless palatal approximant
j̊
IPA number	153 402A
Encoding
Entity (decimal)	j​̊
Unicode (hex)	U+006A U+030A
X-SAMPA	j_0

The symbol ç is the letter c with a cedilla (◌̧), as used to spell French and Portuguese words such as façade and ação. However, the sound represented by the symbol ç in French and Portuguese orthography is not a voiceless palatal fricative; the cedilla, instead, changes the usual /k/, the voiceless velar plosive, when ⟨c⟩ is employed before ⟨a⟩ or ⟨o⟩, to /s/, the voiceless alveolar fricative.

Palatal fricatives are relatively rare phonemes, and only 5% of the world's languages have /ç/ as a phoneme.^[1] The sound further occurs as an allophone of /x/ (e.g. in German or Greek), or, in other languages, of /h/ in the vicinity of front vowels.

There is also the voiceless post-palatal fricative^[2] in some languages, which is articulated slightly farther back compared with the place of articulation of the prototypical voiceless palatal fricative, though not as back as the prototypical voiceless velar fricative. The International Phonetic Alphabet does not have a separate symbol for that sound, though it can be transcribed as ⟨ç̠⟩, ⟨ç˗⟩ (both symbols denote a retracted ⟨ç⟩) or ⟨x̟⟩ (advanced ⟨x⟩). The equivalent X-SAMPA symbols are C_- and x_+, respectively.

Especially in broad transcription, the voiceless post-palatal fricative may be transcribed as a palatalized voiceless velar fricative (⟨xʲ⟩ in the IPA, x' or x_j in X-SAMPA).

Some scholars also posit the voiceless palatal approximant distinct from the fricative, found in a few spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨ j̊ ⟩, the voiceless homologue of the voiced palatal approximant.

The palatal approximant can in many cases be considered the semivocalic equivalent of the voiceless variant of the close front unrounded vowel [i̥]. The sound is essentially an Australian English ⟨y⟩ (as in year) pronounced strictly without vibration of the vocal cords.

It is found as a phoneme in Jalapa Mazatec and Washo as well as in Kildin Sami.

Features

Voiceless palatal fricative (ç)

Features of the voiceless palatal fricative:

• Its manner of articulation is fricative, which means it is produced by constricting air flow through a narrow channel at the place of articulation, causing turbulence.
• Its place of articulation is palatal, which means it is articulated with the middle or back part of the tongue raised to the hard palate. The otherwise identical post-palatal variant is articulated slightly behind the hard palate, making it sound slightly closer to the velar [x].
• 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.
• 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.
• Its airstream mechanism is pulmonic, which means it is articulated by pushing air solely with the intercostal muscles and abdominal muscles, as in most sounds.

Occurrence

Palatal

Language		Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Assamese		সীমা / xima	[ç̠ima]	'limit/border'
Azerbaijani[3]	Some dialects	çörək	[tʃœˈɾæç]	'bread'	Allophone of /c/.
Blackfoot		ᖱᑊᖽᒧᐧᖿ / ihkitsika	[içkitsika]	'Seven'	Allophone of /x/.
Chinese	Taizhou dialect	嬉	[çi]	'to play'	Corresponds to alveolo-palatal /ɕ/ in other Wu dialects.
	Meixian dialect	香	[çʲɔŋ˦]	'fragrant'	Corresponds to palatatized fricative /hj/ in romanised as "hi-" or "hy-" Hakka dialect writing.
Danish	Standard[4]	pjaske	[ˈpçæskə]	'splash'	May be alveolo-palatal [ɕ] instead.[4] Before /j/, aspiration of /p, t, k/ is realized as devoicing and fortition of /j/.[4] Note, however, that the sequence /tj/ is normally realized as an affricate [t͡ɕ].[5] See Danish phonology
Dutch	Standard Northern[6]	wiegje	[ˈʋiçjə]	'crib'	Allophone of /x/ before /j/ for some speakers.[6] See Dutch phonology
English	Australian[7]	hue	[çʉː]	'hue'	Phonetic realization of the sequence /hj/.[7][8][9] See Australian English phonology and English phonology
	British[8][9]
	Scouse[10]	like	[laɪ̯ç]	'like'	Allophone of /k/; ranges from palatal to uvular, depending on the preceding vowel.[10] See English phonology
Estonian		vihm	[viçm]	'rain'	Allophone of /h/. See Estonian phonology
Finnish		vihko	[ʋiçko̞]	'notebook'	Allophone of /h/. See Finnish phonology
French	Parisian[11]	merci	[mɛʁ̥ˈsi̥ç]ⓘ	'thank you'	The close vowels /i, y, u/ and the mid front /e, ɛ/ at the end of utterances can be devoiced.[11] See French phonology
German		nicht	[nɪçt]ⓘ	'not'	Traditionally allophone of /x/, or vice versa, but phonemic for some speakers who have both /aːx/ and /aːç/ (< /aʁç/). See Standard German phonology.
Haida		xíl	[çɪ́l]	'leaf'
Hmong	White (Dawb)	xya	[ça]	'seven'	Corresponds to alveolo-palatal /ɕ/ in Dananshan dialect
	Green (Njua)
Hungarian[12]		kapj	[ˈkɒpç]	'get' (imperative)	Allophone of /j/ between a voiceless obstruent and a word boundary. See Hungarian phonology
Icelandic		hérna	[ˈçɛrtn̥a]	'here'	See Icelandic phonology
Irish		a Sheáin	[ə çaːnʲ]	'John' (voc.)	See Irish phonology
Jalapa Mazatec[13]		[example needed]			Described as an approximant. Contrasts with plain voiced /j/ and glottalized voiced /ȷ̃/.[13]
Japanese[14]		人 / hito	[çi̥to̞]	'person'	Allophone of /h/ before /i/ and /j/. See Japanese phonology
Kabyle		ḵtil	[çtil]	'to measure'
Korean		힘 / him	[çim]	'strength'	Allophone of /h/ word-initially before /i/ and /j/. See Korean phonology
Minangkabau	Mukomuko	tangih	[taŋiç]	'cry'	Allophone of /h/ after /i/ and /j/ in coda.
Norwegian	Urban East[15]	kjekk	[çe̞kː]	'handsome'	Often alveolo-palatal [ɕ] instead; younger speakers in Bergen, Stavanger and Oslo merge it with /ʂ/.[15] See Norwegian phonology
Pashto	Ghilji dialect[16]	پـښـه‎	[pça]	'foot'	See Pashto phonology
	Wardak dialect
Romanian	Standard	vlahi	[vlaç]	'valahians'	Allophone of /h/ before /i/. Typically transcribed with [hʲ]. See Romanian phonology
Russian	Standard[17]	твёрдый / tvjordyj	[ˈt̪ʋʲɵrd̪ɨ̞ç]ⓘ	'hard'	Possible realization of /j/.[17] See Russian phonology
Scottish Gaelic[18]		eich	[eç]	'horses'	Slender allophone of /x/. See Scottish Gaelic phonology and orthography
Sicilian		ciumi	[ˈçuːmɪ]	'river'	Evolved from the Latin /fl/ nexus. Realized as [t͡ʃ] when preceded by a consonant. See Sicilian phonology
Spanish	Chilean[19]	mujer	[muˈçe̞ɾ]	'woman'	Allophone of /x/ before front vowels. See Spanish phonology
Turkish[20]		hile	[çiːʎ̟ɛ]	'trick'	Allophone of /h/.[20] See Turkish phonology
Uzbek		maktab	[mɑçtɑb]	'school'	Occurs when /k/ comes before /t/ and /b/ sounds.
Walloon		texhe	[tɛç]	'to knit'	⟨xh⟩ spelling proper in Common Walloon, in the Feller system it would be written ⟨hy⟩
Welsh		hiaith	[çaɪ̯θ]	'language'	Occurs in words where /h/ comes before /j/ due to h-prothesis of the original word, i.e. /jaɪ̯θ/ iaith 'language' becomes ei hiaith 'her language', resulting in /j/ i → /ç/ hi.[21] See Welsh phonology

Post-palatal

Language		Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Belarusian		глухі / hluchí	[ɣɫuˈxʲi]	'deaf'	Typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨xʲ⟩. See Belarusian phonology
Dutch	Standard Belgian[6]	acht	[ɑx̟t]	'eight'	May be velar [x] instead.[6] See Dutch phonology
	Southern accents[6]
Greek[22]		ψυχή / psychí	[ps̠iˈç̠i]ⓘ	'soul'	See Modern Greek phonology
Limburgish	Weert dialect[23]	ich	[ɪ̞x̟]	'I'	Allophone of /x/ before and after front vowels.[23] See Weert dialect phonology
Lithuanian[24][25]		chemija			Very rare;[26] typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨xʲ⟩. See Lithuanian phonology
Russian	Standard[17]	хинди / chindi	[ˈx̟inʲdʲɪ]ⓘ	'Hindi'	Typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨xʲ⟩. See Russian phonology
Spanish		mujer	[muˈx̟e̞ɾ]	'woman'	Allophone of /x/ before front vowels.[27] See Spanish phonology
Ukrainian		хід / chid	[x̟id̪]	'course'	Typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨xʲ⟩. See Ukrainian phonology
Uzbek[28]		xurmo	[x̟urmɒ]	'date palm'	Weakly fricated; occurs word-initially and pre-consonantally, otherwise it is post-velar [x̠].[28]

Voiceless approximant

Language		Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Breton	Bothoa dialect	[example needed]			Contrasts voiceless /j̊/, plain voiced /j/ and nasal voiced /ȷ̃/ approximants.[29]
Chinese	Standard	票 / piào	[pj̊äʊ̯˥˩]	'ticket'	Common allophony of /j/ after aspirated consonants. Normally transcribed as [pʰj]. See Standard Chinese phonology
English	Australian	[example needed]			Allophone of /j/. See Australian English phonology[30][31]
	New Zealand	[example needed]			Allophone of /j/, also can be [ç] instead. See New Zealand English phonology[32][31]
French		[example needed]			Allophone of /j/. See French phonology[33]
Jalapa Mazatec[13]		[example needed]			Contrasts voiceless /j̊/, plain voiced /j/ and glottalized voiced /ȷ̃/ approximants.[13]
Japanese		[example needed]			Colloquial, Allophone of /j/ [34][35][36]
Scottish Gaelic[37]		a-muigh	[əˈmuj̊]	'outside' (directional)	Allophone of /j/ and /ʝ/. See Scottish Gaelic phonology
Washo		t'á:Yaŋi	[ˈtʼaːj̊aŋi]	'he's hunting'	Contrasts voiceless /j̊/ and voiced /j/ approximants.
Koyukon (Denaakk'e)		[example needed]			Contrasts voiceless /j̊/ and voiced /j/ approximants.

See also

• Index of phonetics articles

Notes

1. Ladefoged & Maddieson (1996), pp. 167–168.
2. Instead of "post-palatal", it can be called "retracted palatal", "backed palatal", "palato-velar", "pre-velar", "advanced velar", "fronted velar" or "front-velar". For simplicity, this article uses only the term "post-palatal".
3. Damirchizadeh (1972), p. 96.
4. Basbøll (2005), pp. 65–66.
5. Grønnum (2005), p. 148.
6. Collins & Mees (2003), p. 191.
7. Cox & Fletcher (2017), p. 159.
8. Roach (2009), p. 43.
9. Wells, John C (2009-01-29), "A huge query", John Wells's phonetic blog, retrieved 2016-03-13
10. Watson (2007), p. 353.
11. Fagyal & Moisset (1999).
12. Siptár & Törkenczy (2007), p. 205.
13. Silverman et al. (1995), p. 83.
14. Okada (1999), p. 118.
15. Kristoffersen (2000), p. 23.
16. Henderson (1983), p. 595.
17. Yanushevskaya & Bunčić (2015), p. 223.
18. Oftedal (1956), pp. 113–4.
19. Palatal phenomena in Spanish phonology Archived 2021-11-23 at the Wayback Machine Page 113
20. Göksel & Kerslake (2005:6)
21. Ball & Watkins (1993), pp. 300–301.
22. Arvaniti (2007), p. 20.
23. Heijmans & Gussenhoven (1998), p. 108.
24. Mathiassen (1996), pp. 22–23).
25. Ambrazas et al. (1997), p. 36.
26. Ambrazas et al. (1997), p. 35.
27. Canellada & Madsen (1987), p. 21.
28. Sjoberg (1963), p. 11.
29. Iosad, Pavel (2013). Representation and variation in substance-free phonology: A case study in Celtic. Universitetet i Tromso.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
30. Cox, Felicity; Palethorpe, Sallyanne (2007). Illustrations of the IPA: Australian English (Cambridge University Press ed.). Journal of the International Phonetic Association 37. pp. 341–350.
31. Moran, Steven; McCloy, Daniel (2019). English sound inventory (UZ). Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
32. Bauer, Laurie; Warren, Paul (2007). Illustrations of the IPA: New Zealand English (Cambridge University Press ed.). Journal of the International Phonetic Association 37. pp. 97–102.
33. Sten, H (1963). Manuel de Phonetique Francaise. Copenhagen: Munksgaard.
34. Bloch (1950), p. 86–125. sfnp error: no target: CITEREFBloch1950 (help)
35. Jorden (1963). sfnp error: no target: CITEREFJorden1963 (help)
36. Jorden (1952). sfnp error: no target: CITEREFJorden1952 (help)
37. Bauer, Michael. "Final devoicing or Why does naoidh sound like Nɯiç?". Akerbeltz. Retrieved 11 December 2016.

References

• Ambrazas, Vytautas; Geniušienė, Emma; Girdenis, Aleksas; Sližienė, Nijolė; Valeckienė, Adelė; Valiulytė, Elena; Tekorienė, Dalija; Pažūsis, Lionginas (1997), Ambrazas, Vytautas (ed.), Lithuanian Grammar, Vilnius: Institute of the Lithuanian Language, ISBN 978-9986-813-22-4
• Arvaniti, Amalia (2007), "Greek Phonetics: The State of the Art" (PDF), Journal of Greek Linguistics, 8: 97–208, CiteSeerX 10.1.1.692.1365, doi:10.1075/jgl.8.08arv, archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-12-11, retrieved 2013-12-11
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• Basbøll, Hans (2005), The Phonology of Danish, Taylor & Francis, ISBN 978-0-203-97876-4
• Canellada, María Josefa; Madsen, John Kuhlmann (1987), Pronunciación del español: lengua hablada y literaria, Madrid: Castalia, ISBN 978-8470394836
• Collins, Beverley; Mees, Inger M. (2003) [First published 1981], The Phonetics of English and Dutch (5th ed.), Leiden: Brill Publishers, ISBN 978-9004103405
• Cox, Felicity; Fletcher, Janet (2017) [First published 2012], Australian English Pronunciation and Transcription (2nd ed.), Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-1-316-63926-9
• Damirchizadeh, A (1972), Modern Azerbaijani Language: Phonetics, Orthoepy and Orthography, Maarif Publ
• Fagyal, Zsuzsanna; Moisset, Christine (1999), "Sound Change and Articulatory Release: Where and Why are High Vowels Devoiced in Parisian French?" (PDF), Proceedings of the XIVth International Congress of Phonetic Science, San Francisco, vol. 1, pp. 309–312
• Göksel, Asli; Kerslake, Celia (2005), Turkish: a comprehensive grammar, Routledge, ISBN 978-0415114943
• Grønnum, Nina (2005), Fonetik og fonologi, Almen og Dansk (3rd ed.), Copenhagen: Akademisk Forlag, ISBN 978-87-500-3865-8
• Heijmans, Linda; Gussenhoven, Carlos (1998), "The Dutch dialect of Weert" (PDF), Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 28 (1–2): 107–112, doi:10.1017/S0025100300006307, S2CID 145635698
• Henderson, Michael M. T. (1983), "Four Varieties of Pashto", Journal of the American Oriental Society, 103 (3): 595–597, doi:10.2307/602038, JSTOR 602038
• Kristoffersen, Gjert (2000), The Phonology of Norwegian, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-823765-5
• Ladefoged, Peter; Maddieson, Ian (1996), The sounds of the World's Languages, Oxford: Blackwell, ISBN 978-0-631-19815-4
• Mathiassen, Terje (1996), A Short Grammar of Lithuanian, Slavica Publishers, Inc., ISBN 978-0893572679
• Oftedal, Magne (1956), A linguistic survey of the Gaelic dialects of Scotland, Vol. III: The Gaelic of Leurbost, Isle of Lewis, Oslo: Norsk Tidskrift for Sprogvidenskap
• Okada, Hideo (1999), "Japanese", in International Phonetic Association (ed.), Handbook of the International Phonetic Association: A Guide to the Use of the International Phonetic Alphabet, Cambridge University Press, pp. 117–119, ISBN 978-0-52163751-0
• Pop, Sever (1938), Micul Atlas Linguistic Român, Muzeul Limbii Române Cluj
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• Silverman, Daniel; Blankenship, Barbara; Kirk, Paul; Ladefoged, Peter (1995), "Phonetic Structures in Jalapa Mazatec", Anthropological Linguistics, 37 (1), The Trustees of Indiana University: 70–88, JSTOR 30028043
• Siptár, Péter; Törkenczy, Miklós (2007), The Phonology of Hungarian, The Phonology of the World's Languages, Oxford University Press
• Sjoberg, Andrée F. (1963), Uzbek Structural Grammar, Uralic and Altaic Series, vol. 18, Bloomington: Indiana University
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External links

• List of languages with [ç] on PHOIBLE
• List of languages with [j̊] on PHOIBLE
• List of languages with [j̥] on PHOIBLE
• List of languages with [ç̟] on PHOIBLE