Voiced labial–velar approximant

<p>The voiced labial–velar approximant is a type of <a href="/facts/Consonant/81X2SGS6">consonantal</a> sound, used in certain <a href="/facts/Speech_communication/WEelhfTs">spoken</a> <a href="/facts/Language/IRcTok2q">languages</a>, including English. It is the sound denoted by the letter ⟨w⟩ in the English alphabet; likewise, the symbol in the <a href="/facts/International_Phonetic_Alphabet/2e7jmUaG">International Phonetic Alphabet</a> that represents this sound is ⟨w⟩, or rarely [ɰʷ], and the equivalent <a href="/facts/X-SAMPA/LEkkVBgw">X-SAMPA</a> symbol is w. In most languages it is the <a href="/facts/Semivowel/9nPDkQdw">semivocalic</a> counterpart of the <a href="/facts/Close_back_rounded_vowel/gqlQLfse">close back rounded vowel</a> [u]. In inventory charts of languages with other <a href="/facts/Labialized_velar_consonant/VVUIqtF0">labialized velar consonants</a>, /w/ will be placed in the same column as those consonants. When consonant charts have only labial and velar columns, /w/ may be placed in the velar column, (bi)labial column, or both. The placement may have more to do with phonological criteria than phonetic ones.
</p><p>Some languages have a voiced labial–prevelar approximant, which is more fronted than the place of articulation of the prototypical voiced labialized velar approximant, though not as front as the prototypical <a href="/facts/Labialized_palatal_approximant/MGBhE7G1">labialized palatal approximant</a>.
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Voiced labial–velar approximant open-in-new

Voiced labial–velar approximant