Voiceless linguolabial fricative

Voiceless linguolabial fricative
θ̼
ɸ̺

The voiceless linguolabial fricative is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents it is ⟨θ̼⟩ or ⟨ɸ̺⟩.

Features

Features:

• Its manner of articulation is fricative, which means it is produced by constricting air flow through a narrow channel at the place of articulation, causing turbulence.

• Its place of articulation is linguolabial, which means it is articulated with the tongue against the upper lip.

• Its phonation is voiceless, which means it 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.

• It is an oral consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth only.

• The airstream mechanism is pulmonic, which means it is articulated by pushing air solely with the lungs and diaphragm, as in most sounds.

Occurrence

Language		Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Big Nambas[1]			[ˈinɛθ̼]	'he is asthmatic'

References

1. Big Nambas example words