Labial consonant

Places of articulation
Labial
Bilabial
Labiodental
Linguolabial
Labial-velar
Coronal
Interdental
Dental
Retroflex
Alveolar
Postalveolar
Alveolo-palatal
Dorsal
Palatal
Labial-palatal
Velar
Uvular
Pharyngeal
Epiglottal
Glottal
Apical
Laminal
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Labials are consonants articulated either with both lips (bilabial articulation) or with the lower lip and the upper teeth (labiodental articulation). English [m] is a bilabial nasal sonorant, [b] and [p] are bilabial stops (plosives), [v] and [f] are labiodental fricatives.

Bilabial fricatives and the bilabial approximant do not exist in standard English, but do occur in many languages. For example, the Spanish consonant spelt b or v is pronounced as a voiced bilabial approximant between vowels.

Lip rounding, or labialisation can also accompany other articulations. English [w] is a labialised velar approximant.

Labial consonants are divided into three subplaces of articulation:

See also

List of phonetics topics

See also: Labial consonant, Alveolar consonant, Alveolo-palatal consonant, Apical consonant, Bilabial consonant, Coronal consonant, Dental consonant, Dorsal consonant, Epiglottal consonant