Voiceless palatal fricative

Voiceless palatal fricative
ç
IPA number138
Audio sample
source · help
Encoding
Entity (decimal)ç
Unicode (hex)U+00E7
X-SAMPAC
Braille⠖ (braille pattern dots-235) ⠉ (braille pattern dots-14)

A voiceless palatal fricative is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨ç⟩. It is the non-sibilant equivalent of the voiceless alveolo-palatal fricative. Palatal fricatives are relatively rare phonemes, and only 5% of the world's languages have /ç/ as a phoneme.[1] The sound further occurs as an allophone of /x/ (e.g. in German or Greek), or, in other languages, of /h/ in the vicinity of front vowels.

Features

Voiceless palatal fricative (ç)

Features of a voiceless palatal fricative:

Occurrence

Palatal

LanguageWordIPAMeaningNotes
Blackfootᖱᑊᖽᒧᐧᖿ / ihkitsíkaa[ɪçkit͡síkaː]'Seven'Allophone of /x/.
ChineseTaizhou dialect嬉[çi]'to play'Corresponds to alveolo-palatal /ɕ/ in other Wu dialects.
Meixian dialect 香 [çʲɔŋ˦] 'fragrant' Corresponds to palatalized fricative /hj/ in romanised as "hi-" or "hy-" Hakka dialect writing.
DanishStandard[2]pjaske[ˈpçæskə]'splash'May be alveolo-palatal [ɕ] instead.[2] Before /j/, aspiration of /p, t, k/ is realized as devoicing and fortition of /j/.[2] Note, however, that the sequence /tj/ is normally realized as an affricate [t͡ɕ].[3] See Danish phonology
DutchStandard Northern[4]wiegje[ˈʋiçjə]'crib'Allophone of /x/ before /j/ for some speakers.[4] See Dutch phonology
EnglishAustralian[5]hue[çʉː]'hue'Phonetic realization of the sequence /hj/.[5][6][7] See Australian English phonology and English phonology
British[6][7]
Scouse[8]like[laɪ̯ç]'like'Allophone of /k/; ranges from palatal to uvular, depending on the preceding vowel.[8] See English phonology
Estonianvihm[viçm]'rain'Allophone of /h/. See Estonian phonology
Finnishvihko[ʋiçko̞]'notebook'Allophone of /h/. See Finnish phonology
FrenchParisian[9]merci[mɛʁ̥ˈsi̥ç]ⓘ'thank you'The close vowels /i, y, u/ and the mid front /e, ɛ/ at the end of utterances are often devoiced.[9] See French phonology
Germannicht[nɪçt]ⓘ'not'Traditionally allophone of /x/, or vice versa, but phonemic for some speakers who have both /aːx/ and /aːç/ (< /aʁç/). See Standard German phonology § Ich-Laut and ach-Laut.
Haidaxíl[çɪ́l]'leaf'
HmongWhite (Dawb)𖬗𖬰𖬧𖬰 / xya[ça˧]'seven'Corresponds to alveolo-palatal /ɕ/ in Dananshan dialect
Green (Njua)
Hungarian[10]kapj[ˈkɒpç]'get' (imperative)Allophone of /j/ between a voiceless obstruent and a word boundary. See Hungarian phonology
Icelandichérna[ˈçɛ(ɾ)tnä]'here'Allophone of /h/ near /j/ and /i/.[11] See Icelandic phonology
Irisha Sheáin[ə çaːnʲ]'John' (voc.)See Irish phonology
Japanese[12]日 / hi[çi]ⓘ'day'Allophone of /h/ before /i/ and /j/. See Japanese phonology
Kabyleḵtil[çtil]'to measure'
Korean힘 / him[çim]ⓘ'strength'Allophone of /h/ word-initially before /i/ and /j/. See Korean phonology
MinangkabauMukomukoloyh[lojç]'loose'Allophone of /h/ after /i/, /oj/, and /uj/ in coda.
Mokshaшалхка[ʃalçka]'nose'
Muniche [tʃaçu] 'plant stalk' [13]
NorwegianUrban East[14]kjerne[ˈçɐ̞̂ːʴɳə]ⓘ'core'Often alveolo-palatal [ɕ] instead; younger speakers in Bergen, Stavanger and Oslo merge it with /ʂ/.[14] See Norwegian phonology
PashtoGhilji dialect[15]پښه[pça]'foot'See Pashto phonology
Wardak dialect
RomanianStandardRohia[r̥ʊ̞ˈçijä]ⓘ'Rohia'Allophone of /h/ before /i/. Typically transcribed with [hʲ]. See Romanian phonology
RussianStandard[16]твёрдый / tvjordyj[ˈt̪ʋʲɵrd̪ɨ̞ç]ⓘ'hard'Possible emphatic realization of /j/.[16] See Russian phonology
Scottish Gaelic[17]eich[eç]'horses'Slender allophone of /x/. See Scottish Gaelic phonology and orthography
Sicilianciumi[ˈçuːmɪ]'river'Evolved from the Latin /fl/ nexus. Realized as [t͡ʃ] when preceded by a consonant. See Sicilian phonology
SpanishChilean[18]mujer[muˈçe̞ɾ]'woman'Allophone of /x/ before front vowels. See Spanish phonology
Turkish[19]zihin[ziˈçin]ⓘ'intellect'Allophone of /h/.[19] See Turkish phonology
Uzbekmaktab[mɑçtɑb]'school'Occurs when /k/ comes before /t/ and /b/ sounds.
Walloontexhe[tɛç]ⓘ'to knit'⟨xh⟩ spelling proper in Common Walloon, in the Feller system it would be written ⟨hy⟩
Welshhiaith[çaɪ̯θ]ⓘ'language'Occurs in words where /h/ comes before /j/ due to h-prothesis of the original word, i.e. /jaɪ̯θ/ iaith 'language' becomes ei hiaith 'her language', resulting in /j/ i → /ç/ hi.[20] See Welsh phonology

Post-palatal

Voiceless post-palatal or pre-velar fricative
ç̠
x̟
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There is also a voiceless post-palatal or pre-velar fricative in some languages, which is articulated slightly farther back compared with the place of articulation of the prototypical voiceless palatal fricative, though not as back as the prototypical voiceless velar fricative. The International Phonetic Alphabet does not have a separate symbol for that sound, though it can be transcribed as ⟨ç̠⟩, ⟨ç᫢⟩ (both symbols denote a retracted ⟨ç⟩) or ⟨x̟⟩ (advanced ⟨x⟩).

LanguageWordIPAMeaningNotes
Belarusianглухі / hluchí[ɣɫuˈx̟i]ⓘ'deaf'Typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨xʲ⟩. See Belarusian phonology
DutchStandard Belgian[4]acht[ˈax̟t]ⓘ'eight'May be velar [x] instead.[4] See Dutch phonology
Southern accents[4]
Greek[21]ψυχή / psychí[ps̠iˈç̠i]ⓘ'soul'See Modern Greek phonology
LimburgishWeert dialect[22]ich[ɪ̞x̟]'I'Allophone of /x/ before and after front vowels.[22] See Weert dialect phonology
Lithuanian[23][24]chemija[ˈx̟ɛmija]'chemistry'Very rare;[25] typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨xʲ⟩. See Lithuanian phonology
RussianStandard[16]хинди / chindi[ˈx̟inʲdʲɪ]ⓘ'Hindi'Typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨xʲ⟩. See Russian phonology
Spanishmujer[muˈx̟e̞ɾ]'woman'Allophone of /x/ before front vowels.[26] See Spanish phonology
Ukrainianалхімія / alchimija[ɐl̞ʲˈx̟imʲijɐ]ⓘ'alchemy'Typically transcribed in IPA with ⟨xʲ⟩. See Ukrainian phonology
Uzbek[27]xurmo[x̟urmɒ]'date palm'Weakly fricated; occurs word-initially and pre-consonantally, otherwise it is post-velar [x̠].[27]

Voiceless palatal approximant

Voiceless palatal approximant
ȷ̊
IPA number153 402A
Audio sample
source · help
Encoding
Entity (decimal)&#106;​&#778;
Unicode (hex)U+006A U+030A
X-SAMPAj_0

A voiceless palatal approximant is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨ j̊ ⟩, a j with a ring,[28] indicating the voiceless homologue of the voiced palatal approximant. The IPA also had a dedicated symbol ⟨ꞕ⟩, an h with palatal hook, for the similar palatalized hʲ sound, but that is now obsolete. In the Finno-Ugric transcription, it is transcribed ⟨ᴊ⟩, a small capital j.

The palatal approximant can in many cases be considered the semivocalic equivalent of the voiceless variant of the close front unrounded vowel [i̥]. The sound is essentially an Australian English ⟨y⟩ (as in year) pronounced strictly without vibration of the vocal cords.

It is found as a phoneme in Jalapa Mazatec and Washo as well as in Kildin Sami.

Language Word IPA Meaning Notes
Breton Bothoa dialect Contrasts voiceless /j̊/, plain voiced /j/ and nasal voiced /ȷ̃/ approximants.[29]
Chinese Standard 票 / piào [pj̊äʊ̯˥˩]ⓘ 'ticket' Common allophony of /j/ after aspirated consonants. Normally transcribed as [pʰj]. See Standard Chinese phonology
English Australian huge [j̊ʉːdʒ] 'huge' H-dropping, also allophone of /j/. See Australian English phonology[30][31]
New Zealand [j̊i̠(ːʷ)dʒ] H-dropping, also allophone of /j/, also can be [ç] instead. See New Zealand English phonology[32][31]
French pierre [pj̊ɛːʀ̥]ⓘ 'stone' Devoiced allophone of /j/.[33] See French phonology
Icelandic hérna [ˈj̊ɛ(ɾ)tnä] 'here' Dialectal, or in free variation with [ç][34][35][36][37][38]
Jalapa Mazatec[39] Contrasts voiceless /j̊/, plain voiced /j/ and glottalized voiced /j̰/ approximants.[39]
Japanese 日 / hi [j̊i] 'day' Colloquial, Allophone of /j/[40][41][42]
Scottish Gaelic[43] a-muigh [əˈmuj̊] 'outside' (directional) Allophone of /j/ and /ʝ/. See Scottish Gaelic phonology
Thai Allophone of /j/.[44]
Tibetan Khams Phonemic[45]
Washo t'á:Yaŋi [ˈtʼaːj̊aŋi] 'he's hunting' Contrasts voiceless /j̊/ and voiced /j/ approximants.
Koyukon (Denaakk'e) Contrasts voiceless /j̊/ and voiced /j/ approximants.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Ladefoged & Maddieson (1996), pp. 167–168.
  2. 1 2 3 Basbøll (2005), pp. 65–66.
  3. ↑ Grønnum (2005), p. 148.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Collins & Mees (2003), p. 191.
  5. 1 2 Cox & Fletcher (2017), p. 159.
  6. 1 2 Roach (2009), p. 43.
  7. 1 2 Wells, John C (2009-01-29), "A huge query", John Wells's phonetic blog, retrieved 2016-03-13
  8. 1 2 Watson (2007), p. 353.
  9. 1 2 Fagyal & Moisset (1999).
  10. ↑ Siptár & Törkenczy (2007), p. 205.
  11. ↑ Rögnvaldsson (2017), p. 33, 37.
  12. ↑ Okada (1999), p. 118.
  13. ↑ Michael, Lev; Farmer, Stephanie; Finley, Gregory; Acosta, Karina Sullón; Beier, Christine; Icahuate, Alexandra Chanchari; Baneo, Donalia Icahuate; Saita, Melchor Sinti (2023-01-16), "18 Muniche", in Epps, Patience; Michael, Lev (eds.), Language Isolates II: Kanoé to Yurakaré, De Gruyter, pp. 851–892, doi:10.1515/9783110432732-005, ISBN 978-3-11-043273-2, retrieved 2025-09-17
  14. 1 2 Kristoffersen (2000), p. 23.
  15. ↑ Henderson (1983), p. 595.
  16. 1 2 3 Yanushevskaya & Bunčić (2015), p. 223.
  17. ↑ Oftedal (1956), pp. 113–4.
  18. ↑ Palatal phenomena in Spanish phonology Archived 2021-11-23 at the Wayback Machine Page 113
  19. 1 2 Göksel & Kerslake (2005:6)
  20. ↑ Ball & Watkins (1993), pp. 300–301.
  21. ↑ Arvaniti (2007), p. 20.
  22. 1 2 Heijmans & Gussenhoven (1998), p. 108.
  23. ↑ Mathiassen (1996), pp. 22–23).
  24. ↑ Ambrazas et al. (1997), p. 36.
  25. ↑ Ambrazas et al. (1997), p. 35.
  26. ↑ Canellada & Madsen (1987), p. 21.
  27. 1 2 Sjoberg (1963), p. 11.
  28. ↑ Blankenship, Barbara; Ladefoged, Peter; Bhaskararao, Peri; Chase, Nichumeno (1993). "Phonetic structures of Khonoma Angami". Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area. 16 (2). doi:10.32655/ltba.16.2.03. ISSN 0731-3500.
  29. ↑ Iosad, Pavel (2013). Representation and variation in substance-free phonology: A case study in Celtic. Universitetet i Tromso.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  30. ↑ Cox, Felicity; Palethorpe, Sallyanne (2007). Illustrations of the IPA: Australian English (Cambridge University Press ed.). Journal of the International Phonetic Association 37. pp. 341–350.
  31. 1 2 Moran, Steven; McCloy, Daniel (2019). English sound inventory (UZ). Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
  32. ↑ Bauer, Laurie; Warren, Paul (2007). Illustrations of the IPA: New Zealand English (Cambridge University Press ed.). Journal of the International Phonetic Association 37. pp. 97–102.
  33. ↑ Sten (1963), p. 37–8.
  34. ↑ Einarsson, Stefan (1949). Icelandic. Johns Hopkins Press.
  35. ↑ Haugen, Einar (1958). "The Phonemics of Modern Icelandic". Language. 34 1: 55–88. doi:10.2307/411276. JSTOR 411276.
  36. ↑ Moran, Steven; McCloy, Daniel, eds. (2019). Icelandic sound inventory (SPA). Stanford Phonology Archive. Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
  37. ↑ "PHOIBLE 2.0 -". phoible.org. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  38. ↑ "PHOIBLE 2.0 - Consonant j̥". phoible.org. Retrieved 2025-07-25.
  39. 1 2 Silverman et al. (1995), p. 83.
  40. ↑ Bloch (1950), p. 86–125.
  41. ↑ Jorden (1963).
  42. ↑ Jorden (1952).
  43. ↑ Bauer, Michael. "Final devoicing or Why does naoidh sound like Nɯiç?". Akerbeltz. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  44. ↑ Abramson 1962; Kruatrachue 1960; Noss 1954; Noss 1964
  45. ↑ Chirkova 2014

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