The voiceless velar lateral affricate is an uncommon speech sound found as a phoneme in the Caucasus and as an allophone in several languages of eastern and southern Africa.
Archi, a Northeast Caucasian language of Dagestan, has two such affricates, plain [k͡ʟ̝̊] and labialized [k͡ʟ̝̊ʷ], though they are further forward than velars in most languages, and might better be called prevelar. Archi also has ejective variants of its lateral affricates, several voiceless lateral fricatives, and a voiced lateral fricative at the same place of articulation, but no alveolar lateral fricatives or affricates.
Zulu and Xhosa have a voiceless lateral affricate as an allophone of their voiceless velar affricate. Hadza has an ejective velar lateral affricate as an allophone of its velar ejective affricate. Indeed, in Hadza this [k͡ʟ̝̊ʼ] contrasts with an palatal lateral ejective affricate, [c͡ʎ̝̊ʼ]. ǁXegwi is reported to have contrasted velar /k͡ʟ̝̊/ from alveolar /t͜ɬ/.
Laghuu, a Loloish language of Vietnam, contrasts four velar lateral affricates, /k͡ʟ̝̊ʰ, k͡ʟ̝̊, ɡ͡ʟ̝, ᵑɡ͡ʟ̝/.
The IPA has no separate symbol for the fricative element of these sounds, but SIL International has added a symbol, ⟨⟩, to the Private Use Areas of their Gentium, Charis and Doulos fonts, at U+F268. Thus the fricatives can be written ⟨k͡⟩.
Features
Features of the voiceless velar lateral affricate: