The voiceless linguolabial plosive is a rare consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents it is ⟨t̼⟩ or ⟨p̺⟩.
Features
Features:
- 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 linguolabial, which means it is articulated with the tongue against the upper lip.
- 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.
- The 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
| Language | Word | IPA | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tangoa[1] | p̈ep̈e | [t̼et̼e] | 'butterfly' | |
| pangepange | ⓘ | 'child' |
References
- ^ Ladefoged and Maddieson 1996, p. 19.
Further reading
- Ladefoged, Peter; Maddieson, Ian (1996). The Sounds of the World's Languages. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 0-631-19815-6.
