Voiceless palatal approximant

Voiceless palatal approximant
j̊
i̯̊
IPA number	153 402A
Encoding
Entity (decimal)	j​̊
Unicode (hex)	U+006A U+030A
X-SAMPA	j_0
Kirshenbaum	j<vls>

The voiceless palatal approximant or the non-syllabic voiceless close front unrounded vowel is a type of consonantal sound, used in a few spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨ j̊ ⟩, the voiceless homologue of the voiced palatal approximant.

It is found as a phoneme in Kildin Sami, in Jalapa Mazatec and in Moksha.

Features

Features of the voiceless palatal approximant:

• Its manner of articulation is approximant, which means it is produced by narrowing the vocal tract at the place of articulation, but not enough to produce a turbulent airstream.

• Its place of articulation is palatal, which means it is articulated with the middle or back part of the tongue raised to the hard palate.

• Its phonation is voiceless, which means it is produced without vibrations of the vocal cords.

• 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.