Labiodental nasal

Encyclopedia : L : LA : LAB : Labiodental nasal

IPA – number 115
IPA – text
IPA – image
Entity ɱ
X-SAMPA F
Kirshenbaum M

The labiodental nasal is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ɱ, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is F. The IPA symbol is a lowercase letter m with a leftward hook protruding the from the lower right of the letter. Occasionally it is instead transcribed as an with a dental diacritic: [m̪].

IPA – number	115
IPA – text
IPA – image
Entity	ɱ
X-SAMPA	`F`
Kirshenbaum	`M`

It is pronounced very similarly to the bilabial nasal [m], except instead of the lips touching each other, the lower lip touches the upper teeth. The position of the lips and teeth is generally the same as for the production of the other labiodental consonants, like [f] and [v], though closure is obviously incomplete for the fricatives.

The labiodental nasal has not been confirmed to exist as a separate phoneme in any language. It has been reported from the Kukuya dialect of Teke, where it is "accompanied by strong protrusion of both lips". However, there is some doubt that a true stop can be made by this gesture (Ladefoged and Maddieson 1996: 18).

Nevertheless, it is extremely common phonetically, as it is the nearly universal allophone of /m/ (and sometimes /n/) before the labiodental fricatives [f] and [v], as in English comfort or circumvent.

Contents

1 Features
2 It occurs in
3 Reference
4 See also

Features

Features of the labiodental nasal:

Its manner of articulation is stop, which means it is produced by obstructing airflow in the vocal tract.
Its place of articulation is labiodental which means it is articulated with the lower lips and the upper teeth.
Its phonation type is voiced, which means the vocal cords are vibrating during the articulation.
It is a nasal consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the nose.
It is a central consonant, which means it is produced by allowing the airstream to flow over the middle of the tongue, rather than the sides.
The airstream mechanism is pulmonic egressive, which means it is articulated by pushing air out of the lungs and through the vocal tract, rather than from the glottis or the mouth.

It occurs in

Greek: as an allophone of /m/ before the labiodental fricatives [f] and [v], in words like αμφιθέατρο: [aɱfiˈθe̞aˌtro̞], 'amphitheatre'.
English: as an allophone of /m/ before the labiodental fricatives [f] and [v], in words like symphony: [ˈsɪɱfəni].

Reference

Ladefoged, Peter, and Ian Maddieson (1996). Sounds of the World's Languages. Blackwells.

Labiodental nasal

Features

It occurs in

Reference

See also