Inphonetics,secondary articulation occurs when the articulation of a consonant is equivalent to the combined articulations of two or three simpler consonants, at least one of which is anapproximant. The secondary articulation of suchco-articulated consonants is the approximant-like articulation. It "colors" the primary articulation rather than obscuring it. Maledo (2011) defines secondary articulation as the superimposition of lesser stricture upon a primary articulation.
There are several kinds of secondary articulation supported by theInternational Phonetic Alphabet:
It can sometimes be difficult to distinguish primary and secondary articulation. For example, thealveolo-palatal consonants[ɕʑ] are sometimes characterized as a distinct primary articulation and sometimes as palatalization of postalveolar fricatives, equivalent to[ʃʲʒʲ] or[s̠ʲz̠ʲ].
The most common method of transcription in the IPA is to turn the letter corresponding to the secondary articulation into a superscript writtenafter the letter for the primary articulation. For example, thew in ⟨kʷ⟩ is written after thek. This can be misleading, as it iconically suggests that the[k] is released into a[w] sound, analogous to ⟨kˡkⁿ⟩ ([k] with a lateral and nasal release), when actually the two articulations of[kʷ] are generally pronounced more-or-less simultaneously. Secondary articulation often has a strong effect on surroundingvowels, and may have an audible realization that precedes the primary consonant, or both precedes and follows it. For example,/akʷa/ will not generally sound simply like[akwa], but may be closer to[awkwa] or even[awka]. For this reason, theIPA symbols for labialization and palatalization were for a time placed under the primary letter (e.g. ⟨k̫⟩ for[kʷ] and ⟨ƫ⟩ for[tʲ]), and a number of phoneticians still prefer such unambiguous usage, with ⟨kʷ⟩ and ⟨tʲ⟩ used specifically foroff-glides, despite the official policy of the IPA. In the official IPA there remains only an alternative symbol for velarization/pharyngealizaton that is superposed over the primary (e.g. ⟨ɫ⟩ fordark L), but that has font support for a limited number of consonants and is inadvisable for others, where it can be illegible. A few phoneticians use superscript letters for offglides andsubscript letters for simultaneous articulation (e.g. ⟨tʲ⟩ vs ⟨tⱼ⟩).
There is a longstanding tradition in the IPA that one may turnany IPA letter into a superscript, and in so doing impart its features to the base consonant. For instance,[ʃˢ] would be an articulation of[ʃ] that has qualities of[s].[1] However, the features are not necessarily imparted as secondary articulation. Superscripts are also used iconically to indicate the onset or release of a consonant, the on-glide or off-glide of a vowel, and fleeting or weak segments. Among other things, these phenomena includepre-nasalization ([ᵐb]),pre-stopping ([ᵖm,ᵗs]),affrication ([tᶴ]), pre-affrication ([ˣk]), trilled, fricative, nasal, and lateral release ([tʳ,tᶿ,dⁿ,dˡ]),rhoticization ([ɑʵ]), anddiphthongs ([aᶷ]). So, while ⟨ˠ⟩ indicatesvelarization of non-velar consonants, it is also used for fricative release of the velar stop (⟨ɡˠ⟩). Mixed consonant-vowels may indicate a transition:[ᵇa] may be the allophone of/a/ with the transition from/b/ that identifies the consonant, while[fʸ] may be the allophone of/f/ before/y/, or the formants of/y/ anticipated in the/f/.
The 2015 edition of theExtensions to the International Phonetic Alphabet formally advocates superscript letters for the first time since 1989, specifically for the release of plosives.[2]