Voiceless bilabial fricative

Voiceless bilabial fricative
ɸ
Audio sample
source · help
Encoding
X-SAMPA	p\
Image

The voiceless bilabial fricative is a sound used in some spoken languages. It is in the Scouse dialect of English but is very similar to /f/.

Characteristics

• The phonation is voiceless. This means that this sound 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.
• The place of articulation (where the sound is produced) is bilabial. This means that this sound is produced with both lips.
• The manner of articulation (how the sound is produced) is fricative. This means that this sound is produced by constricting air flow through a narrow channel at the place of articulation, to make turbulence.

Examples

Language		Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
English	Scouse				Dialectal.
Japanese		ふじ	[ɸɯdʑi]	'wisteria'

Voiceless bilabial approximant

Voiceless bilabial approximant
ɸ˕
Audio sample
source · help
Encoding
X-SAMPA	p\_o

A voiceless bilabial approximant is a rare consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. It is not in English.

Characteristics

• The phonation is voiceless. This means that this sound 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.
• The place of articulation (where the sound is produced) is bilabial. This means that this sound is produced with both lips.
• The manner of articulation (how the sound is produced) is approximant. This means that this sound is produced by narrowing the vocal tract at the place this sound is produced. However, it is not narrowed enough to produce a turbulent airstream.

Examples

Language		Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Kamasau					Contrasts with /ɸ/.