| Voiceless velar plosive | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| k | |||
| IPA number | 109 | ||
| Audio sample | |||
| Encoding | |||
| Entity (decimal) | k | ||
| Unicode (hex) | U+006B | ||
| X-SAMPA | k | ||
| Braille |  | ||
| |||
A voiceless velar plosive or stop is a type of consonantal sound used in almost all spoken languages. It is familiar to English-speakers as the "k" sound in "skip". The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨k⟩.
A [k] sound is a very common sound cross-linguistically. Most languages have at least a plain [k], and some distinguish more than one variety. Many languages also have a two-way contrast between aspirated and plain [k]. Only a few languages lack a voiceless velar plosive, e.g. North Azerbaijani, Tahitian, and Mongolian.
Some languages have a voiceless pre-velar or post-palatal plosive, which is articulated slightly more front compared with the place of articulation of the prototypical velar plosive, though not as front as the prototypical palatal plosive. See Voiceless palatal plosive § Post-palatal for more information.
Conversely, some languages have a voiceless post-velar plosive,[1] which is articulated slightly behind the place of articulation of the prototypical velar plosive, though not as back as the prototypical uvular plosive.
Features
Features of a voiceless velar stop:
- Its manner of articulation is occlusive, which means it is produced by obstructing airflow in the vocal tract. Since the consonant is also oral, with no nasal outlet, the airflow is blocked entirely, and the consonant is a plosive.
- Its place of articulation is velar, which means it is articulated with the back of the tongue (the dorsum) at the soft palate.
- 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 that air is not allowed to escape through the nose.
- It is a median consonant, which means it is produced by directing the airstream down the midline of the tongue, rather than to the sides.
- Its airstream mechanism is pulmonic, which means it is articulated by pushing air only with the intercostal muscles and abdominal muscles, as in most sounds.
Occurrence
| Language | Word | IPA | Meaning | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abkhaz | ақалақь/ak̇halak̇h' | [ˈakalakʲ] | 'the city' | See Abkhaz phonology | |
| Adyghe | Shapsug | кьэт/k′ėt | 'chicken' | Dialectal; corresponds to [t͡ʃ] in other dialects. | |
| Temirgoy | пскэн/pskėn | [pskan] | 'to cough' | ||
| Ahtna | gistaann | [kɪstʰɐːn] | 'six' | ||
| Aleut[2] | kiikax̂ | [kiːkaχ] | 'cranberry bush' | ||
| Arabic | Modern Standard[3] | كتب/kataba | [ˈkatabɐ] | 'he wrote' | See Arabic phonology |
| Armenian | Eastern[4] | քաղաք/ k'aġak'/k'aghak | [kʰɑˈʁɑkʰ] | 'town' | Contrasts with unaspirated form. |
| Assamese | কম/kom | [kɔm] | 'less' | ||
| Assyrian | ܟܬܒ̣ܐ ctava | [ktava] | 'book' | Used in most varieties, with the exception of the Urmia and Nochiya dialects where it corresponds to [t͡ʃ]. | |
| Basque | katu | [kat̪u] | 'cat' | ||
| Bengali | কম/kom | [kɔm] | 'less' | Contrasts with aspirated form. See Bengali phonology | |
| Bulgarian | как/kak | [kak] | 'how' | See Bulgarian phonology | |
| Cantonese | 家/gā | 'home' | See Cantonese phonology | ||
| 橋/桥/kìuh | [kʰi:u˨˩] | 'bridge' | |||
| Catalan[5] | cors | [ˈkɔɾs] | 'hearts' | See Catalan phonology | |
| Chuvash | кукка | [ku'kːɑ] | 'mother's brother' | ||
| Czech | kost | [kost] | 'bone' | See Czech phonology | |
| Danish | Standard[6] | gås | [ˈkɔ̽ːs] | 'goose' | Usually transcribed in IPA with ⟨ɡ̊⟩ or ⟨ɡ⟩. Contrasts with aspirated form, which is usually transcribed in IPA with ⟨kʰ⟩ or ⟨k⟩. See Danish phonology |
| Dutch[7] | koning | 'king' | See Dutch phonology | ||
| English | kiss | 'kiss' | See English phonology | ||
| Esperanto | rakonto | [raˈkonto] | 'tale' | See Esperanto phonology | |
| Estonian | kõik | [kɤik] | 'all' | See Estonian phonology | |
| Filipino | kuto | [ˈkuto] | 'lice' | ||
| Finnish | kakku | [kɑkːu] | 'cake' | See Finnish phonology | |
| French[8] | cabinet | 'office' | See French phonology | ||
| Georgian[9] | ქვა/kva | [kʰva] | 'stone' | ||
| German | Käfig | 'cage' | See Standard German phonology | ||
| Greek | καλόγερος / kalógeros | [kaˈlo̞ʝe̞ro̞s̠] | 'monk' | See Modern Greek phonology | |
| Gujarati | કાંદો/kaṃde | [kɑːnd̪oː] | 'onion' | See Gujarati phonology | |
| Hebrew | Modern | כִּנּוֹר / kinór | 'violin' | See Modern Hebrew phonology | |
| Samaritan | ࠃࠓࠊ / derek | [derek] | 'path' | ||
| Hiligaynon | kadlaw | [kad̪law] | 'laugh' | ||
| Hindustani | काम / کام | 'work' | Contrasts with aspirated form. See Hindustani phonology | ||
| Hokkien | 歌/koa | [kua˧˨] | 'song' | See Hokkien phonology | |
| 區/区/khu | [kʰu˧˨] | 'district' | |||
| Hmong | White Hmong | 𖬀𖬶 / keeb | [kẽ˦] | 'origin', 'beginning', or 'male name' | |
| Hungarian | akkor | [ɒkkor] | 'then' | See Hungarian phonology | |
| Ibaloi | Koma | 'rubber' | |||
| Italian[10] | casa | 'house' | See Italian phonology | ||
| Japanese[11] | 鞄 / kaban | [kabaɴ] | 'handbag' | See Japanese phonology | |
| Kagayanen[12] | kalag | [kað̞aɡ] | 'spirit' | ||
| Khmer | កម្ពុជា / kâmpŭchéa | [kampuciːə] | 'Cambodia' | See Khmer phonology | |
| Korean | 감자 / kamja | [kamdʑa] | 'potato' | See Korean phonology | |
| Lakota | kimímela | [kɪˈmɪmela] | 'butterfly' | ||
| Luxembourgish[13] | geess | [ˈkeːs] | 'goat' | Less often voiced [ɡ]. It is usually transcribed in IPA as ⟨ɡ⟩, and it contrasts with aspirated form, which is usually transcribed ⟨k⟩.[13] See Luxembourgish phonology | |
| Macedonian | кој | 'who' | See Macedonian phonology | ||
| Marathi | कवच | [kəʋət͡s] | 'armour' | Contrasts with aspirated form. See Marathi phonology | |
| Malay | kaki | [käki] | 'leg' | Unreleased in syllable codas in some words, See Malay phonology | |
| Malayalam | കഥ/katha | 'story' | See Malayalam phonology | ||
| Mandarin | 高/gāo | 'high' | See Mandarin phonology | ||
| 考/kǎo | [kʰɑʊ˨˩˦] | 'roast' (v.) | |||
| Nepali | केरा | [keɾä] | 'banana' | Contrasts with aspirated form. See Nepali phonology | |
| Norwegian | kake | [kɑːkə] | 'cake' | See Norwegian phonology | |
| Odia | କାମ/kāma | [kämɔ] | 'work' | Contrasts with aspirated form. | |
| Pashto | كال/kal | [kɑl] | 'year' | ||
| Persian | کارد/kārd | [kɑrd] | 'knife' | ||
| Polish[14] | buk | 'beech tree' | See Polish phonology | ||
| Portuguese[15] | corpo | 'body' | See Portuguese phonology | ||
| Punjabi | ਕਰ /کر / kar | [kəɾ] | 'do' | Contrasts with aspirated form. | |
| Romanian[16] | când | [ˈkɨnd] | 'when' | See Romanian phonology | |
| Russian[17] | короткий/korotkij | 'short' | See Russian phonology | ||
| Serbo-Croatian[18] | кост / kost | [kȏːs̪t̪] | 'bone' | See Serbo-Croatian phonology | |
| Slovak | kosť | [kɔ̝sc] | 'bone' | See Slovak phonology | |
| Slovene | kost | [ˈkôːs̪t̪] | 'bone' | Aspirated before close vowels. See Slovene phonology | |
| Spanish[19] | casa | 'house' | See Spanish phonology | ||
| Swedish | ko | [ˈkʰuː] | 'cow' | See Swedish phonology | |
| Sylheti | ꠇꠤꠔꠣ/kita | [kɪt̪à] | 'what' | ||
| Tamil | கல் | 'rock' | See Tamil phonology | ||
| Telugu | కాకి/kāki | [kāki] | 'crow' | Contrasts with aspirated form. | |
| Thai | ไก่/kị̀ | [kaj˨˩] | 'chicken' | Contrasts with an aspirated form. | |
| Toki Pona | kulupu | [kulupu] | 'group' | Sometimes aspirated. | |
| Turkish | kulak | [kʰuɫäk] | 'ear' | See Turkish phonology | |
| Ubykh | кауар/kawar | [kawar] | 'slat' | Found mostly in loanwords. See Ubykh phonology | |
| Ukrainian[20] | колесо/koleso | 'wheel' | See Ukrainian phonology | ||
| Vietnamese[21] | cam | [kam] | 'orange' | See Vietnamese phonology | |
| Welsh | calon | [kʰalɔn] | 'heart' | See Welsh phonology | |
| West Frisian | keal | [kɪəl] | 'calf' | See West Frisian phonology | |
| Yi | ꇰ / ge | [kɤ˧] | 'foolish' | Contrasts aspirated and unaspirated forms. | |
| Zapotec | Tilquiapan[22] | canza | [kanza] | 'walking' | |
See also
Notes
- Instead of "post-velar", it can be called "retracted velar", "backed velar", "pre-uvular", "advanced uvular" or "fronted uvular".
- Ladefoged (2005), p. 165.
- Thelwall (1990), p. 37.
- Dum-Tragut (2009), p. 13.
- Carbonell & Llisterri (1992), p. 53.
- Basbøll (2005:61)
- Gussenhoven (1992), p. 45.
- Fougeron & Smith (1993), p. 73.
- Shosted & Chikovani (2006), p. 255.
- Rogers & d'Arcangeli (2004), p. 117.
- Okada (1999), p. 117.
- Olson et al. (2010), pp. 206–207.
- Gilles & Trouvain (2013:67–68)
- Jassem (2003), p. 103.
- Cruz-Ferreira (1995), p. 91.
- DEX Online:
- Padgett (2003), p. 42.
- Landau et al. (1999), p. 66.
- Martínez-Celdrán, Fernández-Planas & Carrera-Sabaté (2003), p. 255.
- Danyenko & Vakulenko (1995), p. 4.
- Thompson (1959), pp. 458–461.
- Merrill (2008), p. 108.
References
- Basbøll, Hans (2005), The Phonology of Danish, Taylor & Francis, ISBN 0-203-97876-5
- Carbonell, Joan F.; Llisterri, Joaquim (1992), "Catalan", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 22 (1–2): 53–56, doi:10.1017/S0025100300004618, S2CID 249411809
- Cruz-Ferreira, Madalena (1995), "European Portuguese", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 25 (2): 90–94, doi:10.1017/S0025100300005223, S2CID 249414876
- Danyenko, Andrii; Vakulenko, Serhii (1995), Ukrainian, Lincom Europa, ISBN 978-3-929075-08-3
- Dum-Tragut, Jasmine (2009), Armenian: Modern Eastern Armenian, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company
- Fougeron, Cecile; Smith, Caroline L. (1993), "French", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 23 (2): 73–76, doi:10.1017/S0025100300004874, S2CID 249404451
- Gilles, Peter; Trouvain, Jürgen (2013), "Luxembourgish", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 43 (1): 67–74, doi:10.1017/S0025100312000278
- Gussenhoven, Carlos (1992), "Dutch", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 22 (2): 45–47, doi:10.1017/S002510030000459X, S2CID 243772965
- Jassem, Wiktor (2003), "Polish", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 33 (1): 103–107, doi:10.1017/S0025100303001191
- Ladefoged, Peter (2005), Vowels and Consonants (Second ed.), Blackwell
- Martínez-Celdrán, Eugenio; Fernández-Planas, Ana Ma.; Carrera-Sabaté, Josefina (2003), "Castilian Spanish", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 33 (2): 255–259, doi:10.1017/S0025100303001373
- Merrill, Elizabeth (2008), "Tilquiapan Zapotec", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 38 (1): 107–114, doi:10.1017/S0025100308003344
- 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
- Olson, Kenneth; Mielke, Jeff; Sanicas-Daguman, Josephine; Pebley, Carol Jean; Paterson, Hugh J. III (2010), "The phonetic status of the (inter)dental approximant", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 40 (2): 199–215, doi:10.1017/S0025100309990296, S2CID 38504322
- Padgett, Jaye (2003), "Contrast and Post-Velar Fronting in Russian", Natural Language & Linguistic Theory, 21 (1): 39–87, doi:10.1023/A:1021879906505, S2CID 13470826
- Rogers, Derek; d'Arcangeli, Luciana (2004), "Italian", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 34 (1): 117–121, doi:10.1017/S0025100304001628
- Shosted, Ryan K.; Chikovani, Vakhtang (2006), "Standard Georgian" (PDF), Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 36 (2): 255–264, doi:10.1017/S0025100306002659
- Thelwall, Robin (1990), "Arabic", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 20 (2): 37–41, doi:10.1017/S0025100300004266, S2CID 243640727
- Thompson, Laurence (1959), "Saigon phonemics", Language, 35 (3): 454–476, doi:10.2307/411232, JSTOR 411232
- Landau, Ernestina; Lončarića, Mijo; Horga, Damir; Škarić, Ivo (1999), "Croatian", Handbook of the International Phonetic Association: A guide to the use of the International Phonetic Alphabet, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 66–69, ISBN 978-0-521-65236-0