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Voiceless bilabial affricate

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A voiceless bilabial affricate ([p͡ɸ] in IPA) is a rare affricate consonant that is initiated as a bilabial stop [p] and released as a voiceless bilabial fricative [ɸ]. It has not been reported to occur phonemically in any language.

Features

Features of the voiceless bilabial affricate:

  • Its manner of articulation is affricate, which means it is produced by first stopping the airflow entirely, then allowing air flow through a constricted channel at the place of articulation, causing turbulence.
  • Its place of articulation is bilabial, which means it is articulated with both lips.
  • Its phonation is voiceless, which means it is produced without vibrations of the vocal cords. In some languages the vocal cords are actively separated, so it is always voiceless; in others the cords are lax, so that it may take on the voicing of adjacent sounds.
  • It is an oral consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth only.
  • It is a central consonant, which means it is produced by directing the airstream along the center of the tongue, rather than to the sides.
  • The airstream mechanism is pulmonic, which means it is articulated by pushing air solely with the lungs and diaphragm, as in most sounds.

    • References

    Voiceless bilabial affricate Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA