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Reference.org
Voiced palatal approximant
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<p>The voiced palatal approximant is a type of <a href="/facts/Consonant/81X2SGS6">consonant</a> used in many <a href="/facts/Spoken_language/4BTtv1kU">spoken languages</a>. The symbol in the <a href="/facts/International_Phonetic_Alphabet/2e7jmUaG">International Phonetic Alphabet</a> that represents this sound is ⟨j⟩; the equivalent <a href="/facts/X-SAMPA/LEkkVBgw">X-SAMPA</a> symbol is j, and in the <a href="/facts/Americanist_phonetic_notation/ozMFd3Rl">Americanist phonetic notation</a> it is ⟨y⟩. When this sound occurs in the form of a palatal glide it is frequently, but not exclusively, denoted as a superscript <i>j</i> ⟨<a href="/facts/Palatalization_(phonetics)/LXAIp4TB">ʲ</a>⟩ in IPA. </p><p>This sound is traditionally called a <a href="/facts/Yod_(letter)/mvVQfBTm"><i>yod</i></a>, after its name in <a href="/facts/Hebrew/hqKCSy9d">Hebrew</a>. This is reflected in the names of certain <a href="/facts/Sound_change/NU6EyI1u">phonological changes</a>, such as <a href="/facts/Phonological_history_of_English_consonant_clusters/aRMpzrAh"><i>yod-dropping</i></a> and <a href="/facts/Phonological_history_of_English_consonant_clusters/aRMpzrAh"><i>yod-coalescence</i></a>. </p><p>The palatal approximant can often be considered the <a href="/facts/Semivowel/9nPDkQdw">semivocalic</a> equivalent of the <a href="/facts/Close_front_unrounded_vowel/rSUdlCPU">close front unrounded vowel</a> [i]. They <a href="/facts/Alternation_(linguistics)/QjBg6et8">alternate</a> with each other in certain languages, such as <a href="/facts/French_language/qe1DnaQh">French</a>, and in the <a href="/facts/Diphthongs/K8tWRvsx">diphthongs</a> of some languages as ⟨j⟩ and ⟨i̯⟩, with the non-syllabic diacritic used in different <a href="/facts/Phonetic_transcription/bfbFHWur">phonetic transcription</a> systems to represent the same sound. </p><p>A voiced alveolo-palatal approximant is attested as phonemic in the <a href="/facts/Huastec_language/TNJK6hGF">Huastec language</a>, and is represented as an advanced voiced palatal approximant ⟨j̟⟩, or the plus sign may be placed after the letter, ⟨j˖⟩. </p>