Voiceless palatal-velar fricative

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Cite This Source

The voiceless palatal-velar fricative (also voiceless dorso-palatal velar fricative, voiceless postalveolar and velar fricative, voiceless coarticulated velar and palatoalveolar fricative) is a term used for a range of similar sounds used in most dialects of Swedish to realize the phoneme /ɧ/. In Swedish, it is very often referred to as the sje-sound, based on one of the more common spellings used in Swedish orthography. Among the most notable characteristics of these sounds is that they have very similar acoustic properties and feature distinct labialization. The IPA symbol used for the sound is described in the official charts of the International Phonetic Association as a "simultaneous ʃ and x", but this claim is disputed among phoneticians.

This sound is not entirely dissimilar to the sound conveyed by the Dutch or German ch appearing after either e or i. (After a, o, or u, ch carries a much harder sound in German, comparable to the Scottish ch.)

Features

Features of the voiceless palatal-velar 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 disputed (see below).
Its phonation type is voiceless, which means it is produced without vibrations of the vocal cords.
It is an oral consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth.
It is a central consonant, which means it is produced by allowing the airstream to flow over the center of the tongue, rather than the sides.
The airstream mechanism is pulmonic egressive, which means it is articulated by pushing air out of the lungs and through the vocal tract, rather than from the glottis or the mouth.

Occurrence

This sound has been reported in certain dialects of Swedish, where it is most often known as the "sje"-sound.

Its place of articulation varies over Swedish regions, and is not agreed upon (see References). It has been variously found to be:

velar and postalveolar, meaning it is articulated simultaneously with the tongue dorsum (i.e. the back part of the tongue) approximating the velum (i.e. the soft palate) (like [x]) and just behind the teeth (like [ʃ]). However, doubly articulated fricatives are very difficult to pronounce or to hear, and many linguists doubt that they exist.
palatal and velar, meaning it is articulated simultaneously with the back part of the tongue (the dorsum) approximating velum and the hard palate, and usually described as pronounced with rounded or protruding lips. However, even if doubly articulated fricatives are possible, two articulations in the dorsal region are not, for double articulation requires two independent articulators.
Lindblad describes one of two common variants of Swedish /ɧ/ as dentolabial (articulated with the lower teeth against the upper lip) with simultaneous velarization and protrusion of the upper lip. This could be explicitly transcribed as [f͆ˠʷ]. (The English sigh of relief "phew!" is probably the closest approximation, resembling the voiceless labial-velar approximant that is used in some varieties of American English.)
Lindblad describes the second common variant of Swedish /ɧ/ as velar. The difference between it and [x] is not clear, but it may have less friction ([x̞]), or be further forward ([x̟]), or both.
A number of intermediate possibilities between these extremes.
Other articulations have been described as well, with no obvious standard emerging.

Consider the following comments by Peter Ladefoged and Ian Maddieson:

References

Abercrombie, David. (1967). Elements of general phonetics. Chicago: Aldine.
Garlén, Claes (1988), Svenskans fonologi : [i kontrastiv och typologisk belysning] Lund : Studentlitteratur, 1988 [Ny utg.]
Ladefoged, Peter; & Maddieson, Ian. (1996). The sounds of the world's languages. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.
Lindblad, Per. (1980). Svenskans sje- och tje-ljud i ett Allmänfonetisk Perspektiv. Travaux de l'Institut de Linguistique de Lund 16. Lund: C. W. K. Gleerup.

Voiceless palatal-velar fricative

Features

Occurrence

References

See also