| Labio-palatalized | |
|---|---|
| ◌ᶣ | |
| ◌ʲʷ |
Alabio-palatalized sound is one that is simultaneouslylabialized andpalatalized. Typically theroundedness is compressed, like[y], rather than protruded like[u]. The symbol in theInternational Phonetic Alphabet for thissecondary articulation is ⟨ᶣ⟩, a superscript ⟨ɥ⟩, the symbol for thelabialized palatal approximant. If such sounds pattern with other, labialized, consonants, they may instead be transcribed as palatalized consonants plus labialization, ⟨ʷ⟩, as with the[sʲʷ] =[sᶣ] ofAbkhaz or the[nʲʷ] =[nᶣ] ofAkan.
A voiced labialized palatal approximant[ɥ] occurs inMandarin Chinese andFrench, but elsewhere is uncommon, as it is generally dependent upon the presence of frontrounded vowels such as[ø] and[y], which are themselves not common.[1] However, a labialized palatal approximant and labio-palatalized consonants appear in some languages without front rounded vowels in the Caucasus and in West Africa,[2] such as Abkhaz, and asallophones of labialized consonants before/i/, including the[tsᶣ] at the beginning of the language nameTwi. In Russian,/o/ and/u/ trigger labialization of any preceding consonant, including palatalized consonants, so thatнёс 'he carried' is phonetically[nᶣɵs].
Iaai has avoiceless labialized palatal approximant/ɥ̊/.
Truly co-articulatedlabial–palatal consonants such as[p͡c,b͡ɟ,m͡ɲ] are theoretically possible.[3] However, the closest sounds attested from the world's languages are thelabial–postalveolar consonants ofYélî Dnye in New Guinea, which are sometimes transcribed as labial–palatals.
