Type of doubly articulated consonant
A
labial?coronal
consonant is a
consonant
produced with two simultaneous
articulators
: with the lips ('labial'; a
[
p
]
,
[
b
]
, or
[
m
]
sound), and with the tongue (at the gums, an 'alveolar'
[
t
]
,
[
d
]
, or
[
n
]
sound, or further back, a 'post-alveolar'
[
?
]
,
[
?
]
sound).
Several languages have been claimed to have such sounds, such as
Margi
and
Bura
in Nigeria. However, most researchers interpret them as having sequences of labial and coronal consonants, a rather common occurrence in Africa. The
Yeli Dnye language
[1]
[2]
of
Rossel Island
,
Papua New Guinea
, appears to be unique in having distinct
labial?alveolar
and
labial?postalveolar
places of articulation, as illustrated below. (The alveolars are fronted, and the post-alveolars only slightly retracted, so it may be best not to consider the latter to be
retroflex
as they are sometimes described.)
Stops in Yeli Dnye
|
Labial-alveolar
|
Labial?postalveolar
|
Labial?velar
|
Stop
|
t?p?n?
|
lung
|
t??p?n?
|
horn
|
k?pene
|
coconut bag
|
Prenasalized stop
|
n?md?boo
|
pulp
|
n??md??boo
|
many
|
ŋ?m??bo
|
fog
|
Nasal
|
n?mo
|
bird
|
n??mo
|
we
|
ŋ?mo
|
breast
|
Labial?coronal allophones
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In some Ghanaian languages such as
Dagbani
, and
Nzema
, there are palatalized
allophones
of
labial?velars
. These are sometimes mistakenly referred to as labial?alveolars, though they actually have a
post-alveolar
or
palatal
articulation instead of a true
alveolar
one.
Something similar is found with the
labialized
alveolar stops in several
Northwest
and
Northeast Caucasian languages
such as
Abkhaz
and
Lak
. Although the double stop articulation may be more common, they are generally considered to be essentially labialized alveolars because the labial contact is light, and moreover the contact is between the inner surfaces of the lips, which are
protruded
as they are for [w]. This is quite different from the normal contact for [p] in these languages. The labial contact may also be realized as a trill. Compare the following
minimal sets
in Ubykh:
da
|
now
|
d?a
~
d?ba
~
d??a
|
awl
|
ba
|
if
|
ta
|
pregnant
|
t?a
~
t?pa
~
t??a
|
cherry
|
pa
|
to weave
|
t??
|
ram
|
t???
~
t?p??
~
t????
|
to take out
|
|
|
Some speakers of
!Xoo
have a labial?dental allophone,
[???]
(or
[???]
), of the bilabial click
/
?
/
in some cases (Traill 1985: 103?104).
Discounting
clicks
otherwise as having a velar/lingual airstream mechanism rather than a double articulation, nearly all other
doubly articulated consonants
in the world are
labial?velars
. The labial-alveolars reported from some
Chadic languages
have upon investigation turned out to be
/tp/
,
/db/
,
/nm/
and
/d?/
sequences, not single consonants. (See
Margi language
.)
References
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