Labial-velar 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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Labial-velar consonants are doubly articulated at the velum and the lips. They are sometimes ambiguously called "labiovelar consonants". The only common labial-velar consonant is the approximant [w]. It and its voiceless equivalent have dedicated IPA symbols:
| IPA | Description | Example | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Language | Orthography | IPA | Meaning | ||
| Missing image Xsampa-X.png Image:Xsampa-X.png | voiceless labial-velar approximant | English | which | [ʍɪtʃ] | which1 |
| Missing image Xsampa-w2.png Image:Xsampa-w2.png | labial-velar approximant | English | way | [weɪ] | way |
1In dialects that distinguish between which and witch.
The voiceless approximant is officially called a "voiceless labial-velar fricative", but doubly articulated fricatives are unknown, and do not seem to be possible. However, the symbol [ʍ] is occasionally used for a labialized velar fricative, [xʷ].
Labial-velar plosives and nasal stops are found in the majority of languages in West and Central Africa, and are relatively common in the eastern end of New Guinea. They include [k͡p, g͡b, ŋ͡m]. The Yelî Dnye language of Rossel Island, PNG, has a plain plosive, pre- and post-nasalized stops, and a nasal stop. (Yeli appears to be unique in also having labial-alveolar consonants.)
To pronounce these, try saying [k, g, ŋ], but close your lips as you would for [p, b, m].
Instead of digraphs, occasionally ligatures will be seen:
Missing image
Labial_velars.png
Image:Labial velars.png
Note that although such symbols are readily understood, they are not sanctioned by the IPA, and have no Unicode values. They can, however, be specified as the way an OpenType font displays gb and kp digraphs.
The plosives may occasionally be ejective or implosive. The only other labial-velar consonants are the velar bilabial clicks.