Palatal approximant

For consonants followed by superscript ʲ, see Palatalization.
Palatal approximant
j
ʝ̞
ʝ˕
IPA number 153
Encoding
Entity (decimal) j
Unicode (hex) U+006A
X-SAMPA j
Kirshenbaum j
Braille ⠚ (braille pattern dots-245)
Sound
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The voiced palatal approximant is a type of consonant used in many spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is j. The equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is j, and in the Americanist phonetic notation it is y. Because the English name of the letter J, jay, does not start with [j] but with [d͡ʒ] (voiced palato-alveolar affricate), this approximant is sometimes called yod instead, as in the phonological history terms yod-dropping and yod-coalescence.

The palatal approximant can in many cases be considered the semivocalic equivalent of the close front unrounded vowel [i]. The two are almost identical featurally. They alternate with each other in certain languages, such as French, and in the diphthongs of some languages, j and with the non-syllabic diacritic are used in different transcription systems to represent the same sound.

Some languages, though, have a palatal approximant that is unspecified for rounding, and therefore cannot be considered the semivocalic equivalent of either [i] or its rounded counterpart [y]. An example of such language is Spanish, which distinguishes two palatal approximants: an approximant semivowel [j], which is always unrounded, and an unspecified for rounding approximant consonant [ʝ̞]. Eugenio Martínez Celdrán describes the difference between them as follows:[1]

[j] is shorter and is usually a merely transitory sound. It can only exist together with a full vowel and does not appear in syllable onset. [On the other hand,] [ʝ̞] has a lower amplitude, mainly in F2. It can only appear in syllable onset. It is not noisy either articulatorily or perceptually. [ʝ̞] can vary towards [ʝ] in emphatic pronunciations, having noise (turbulent airstream). (...)

There is a further argument through which we can establish a clear difference between [j] and [ʝ̞]: the first sound cannot be rounded, not even through co-articulation, whereas the second one is rounded before back vowels or the back semi-vowel. Thus, in words like viuda [ˈbjuð̞a] 'widow', Dios [ˈdjos] 'God', vio [ˈbjo] 's/he saw', etc., the semi-vowel [j] is unrounded; if it were rounded a sound that does not exist in Spanish, [ɥ], would appear. On the other hand, [ʝ̞] is unspecified as far as rounding is concerned and it is assimilated to the labial vowel context: rounded with rounded vowels, e.g. ayuda [aˈʝ̞ʷuð̞a] 'help', coyote [koˈʝ̞ʷote] 'coyote', hoyuelo [oˈʝ̞ʷwelo] 'dimple', etc., and unrounded with unrounded vowels: payaso [paˈʝ̞aso] 'clown', ayer [aˈʝ̞eɾ] 'yesterday'.

He also says that in his opinion, "the IPA shows a lack of precision in the treatment it gives to approximants, if we take into account our understanding of the phonetics of Spanish. [ʝ̞] and [j] are two different segments, but they have to be labelled as voiced palatal approximant consonants. I think that the former is a real consonant, whereas the latter is a semi-consonant, as it has traditionally been called in Spanish, or a semi-vowel, if preferred. The IPA, though, classifies it as a consonant."[2]

There is a parallel problem with transcribing the voiced velar approximant.

The symbol ʝ̞ may also be used when the palatal approximant is merely an allophone of the voiced palatal fricative /ʝ/ as, compared with j, it is somewhat more similar to the symbol ʝ. The X-SAMPA equivalent of ʝ̞ is j\_o.

Note that the symbol ʝ̞ may not display properly in all browsers. If that is the case, ʝ˕ should be substituted.

In the writing systems used for most of the languages of Central, Northern, and Eastern Europe, the letter j denotes the palatal approximant, as in German Jahr 'year'. That is followed by IPA although it may be counterintuitive for English speakers (words occur with this sound in a few loanwords in English like Hebrew "hallelujah" and German "Jägermeister").

In grammars of Ancient Greek, the palatal approximant, which was lost early in the history of Greek, is sometimes written as ι̯ (iota with the inverted breve below, the nonsyllabic diacritic or marker of a semivowel).[3]

There is also the post-palatal approximant[4] in some languages, which is articulated slightly more back compared with the place of articulation of the prototypical palatal approximant, though not as back as the prototypical velar approximant. It can be considered the semivocalic equivalent of the close central unrounded vowel [ɨ], and the two are almost identical featurally. The International Phonetic Alphabet does not have a separate symbol for that sound, though it can be transcribed as , (both symbols denote a retracted j), ɰ̟ or ɰ˖ (both symbols denote an advanced ɰ). The equivalent X-SAMPA symbols are j_- and M\_+, respectively. Other possible transcriptions include a centralized j ( in the IPA, j_" in X-SAMPA), a centralized ɰ (ɰ̈ in the IPA, M\_" in X-SAMPA) and a non-syllabic ɨ (ɨ̯ in the IPA, 1_^ in X-SAMPA).

For the reasons mentioned above and in the article velar approximant, none of these symbols are appropriate for languages such as Spanish, in which the post-palatal approximant consonant (not a semivowel) appears as an allophone of /ɡ/ before front vowels, and is best transcribed ʝ̞˗, ʝ˕˗ (both symbols denote a lowered and retracted ʝ), ɣ̞˖ or ɣ˕˖ (both symbols denote a lowered and advanced ɣ). The equivalent X-SAMPA symbols are j\_o_- and G_o_+.

Especially in broad transcription, the post-palatal approximant may be transcribed as a palatalized velar approximant (ɰʲ, ɣ̞ʲ or ɣ˕ʲ in the IPA, M\', M\_j, G'_o or G_o_j in X-SAMPA).

Features

Features of the palatal approximant:

Occurrence

Palatal

Language Word IPA Meaning Notes
Adyghe ятӀэ  [jatʼa]  'dirt'
Afrikaans ja [jɑː] 'yes' See Afrikaans phonology
Arabic Standard يوم [jawm] 'day' See Arabic phonology
Aragonese[5] caye [ˈkaʝ̞e̞] 'falls' Unspecified for rounding palatal approximant consonant; the language also features an unrounded palatal approximant semivowel (which may replace /ʝ̞/ before /e/).[5]
Armenian Eastern[6] յուղ [juʁ] 'fat'
Assamese মানৱীয়তা [manɔwijɔta] 'humanity'
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic yama [jaːma] 'ocean'
Azerbaijani yuxu [juxu] 'dream'
Basque bai [baj] 'yes'
Bengali য় [nɔjon] 'eye' See Bengali phonology
Bulgarian майка/mayka [ˈmajkɐ] 'mother' See Bulgarian phonology
Catalan[7] seient [səˈjen] 'seat' See Catalan phonology
Chechen ялх/yalx [jalx] 'six'
Chinese Cantonese /jat9 [jɐt˨ʔ] 'day' See Cantonese phonology
Mandarin /yā [ja˥] 'duck' See Mandarin phonology
Corsican ghjesgia [ˈjeːʒa] 'church' Also occurs in the Gallurese dialect
Czech je [jɛ] 'is' See Czech phonology
Danish jeg [jä] 'I' See Danish phonology
Dutch Standard[8] ja [jaː] 'yes' Frequently realized as a fricative [ʝ], especially in emphatic speech.[8] See Dutch phonology
English you [juː] 'you' See English phonology
Esperanto jaro [jaro] 'year' See Esperanto phonology
Finnish jalka [ˈjɑlkɑ] 'leg' See Finnish phonology
French yeux [jø] 'eyes' See French phonology
German Standard[9][10] Jacke [ˈjäkə] 'jacket' Also described as a fricative [ʝ][11][12] and a sound variable between a fricative and an approximant.[13] See Standard German phonology
Hebrew ילד [ˈjeled] 'boy' See Modern Hebrew phonology
Hindustani Hindi यान [jɑːn] 'vehicle' See Hindustani phonology
Urdu
Hungarian játék [jaːteːk] 'game' See Hungarian phonology
Irish[14] ghearrfadh [ˈjɑːɾˠhəx] 'would cut' See Irish phonology
Italian[15] ione [ˈjoːne] 'ion' See Italian phonology
Jalapa Mazatec[16] Contrasts voiceless //, plain voiced /j/ and glottalized voiced /ȷ̃/ approximants.[16]
Japanese 焼く/yaku [jaku͍] 'to bake' See Japanese phonology
Kabardian йи [ji] 'game'
Korean 야구/yagu [ˈjaːɡu] 'baseball' See Korean phonology
Lithuanian[17] ji [jɪ] 'she' Also described as a fricative [ʝ].[18][19] See Lithuanian phonology
Macedonian крај [kraj] 'end' See Macedonian phonology
Malay sayang [sajaŋ] 'love'
Mapudungun[20] kayu [kɜˈjʊ] 'six' May be a fricative [ʝ] instead.[20]
Marathi [jəʃ] 'success'
Norwegian Standard Eastern[21][22] gi [jiː] 'to give' May be a fricative [ʝ] instead.[22][23] See Norwegian phonology
Polish[24] jutro  [ˈjut̪rɔ]  'tomorrow' See Polish phonology
Portuguese[25] ia [ˈbɔj.jɐ] 'buoy', 'float' Allophone of both /i/ and /ʎ/,[26] as well as a very common epenthetic sound before coda sibilants in some dialects. See Portuguese phonology
Punjabi ਯਾਰ [jäːɾ] 'friend'
Romanian iar [jar] 'again' See Romanian phonology
Russian[27] яма [ˈjämə] 'pit' See Russian phonology
Slovak[28] jesť [je̞sc̟] 'to eat' See Slovak phonology
Spanish[29] ayer [aˈʝ̞e̞ɾ] 'yesterday' Unspecified for rounding palatal approximant consonant; the language also features an unrounded palatal approximant semivowel.[29] See Spanish phonology
Swedish jag [ˈjɑːɡ] 'I' See Swedish phonology
Turkish[30] yol [jo̞ɫ̪] 'way' See Turkish phonology
Turkmen ýüpek [jypek] 'silk'
Ubykh [ajəwʃqʼa] 'you did it' See Ubykh phonology
Ukrainian їжак/jižak [jiˈʒɑk] 'hedgehog' See Ukrainian phonology
Vietnamese Southern dialects de [jɛ] 'cinnamon' Corresponds to northern /z/. See Vietnamese phonology
Washo dayáʔ [daˈjaʔ] 'leaf' Contrasts voiceless // and voiced /j/ approximants.
West Frisian jas [jɔs] 'coat' See West Frisian phonology
Zapotec Tilquiapan[31] yan [jaŋ] 'neck'

Post-palatal

Language Word IPA Meaning Notes
Spanish[32] seguir [se̞ˈɣ̞˖iɾ] 'to follow' Lenited allophone of /ɡ/ before front vowels;[32] typically transcribed with ɣ. See Spanish phonology

Variable

Language Word IPA Meaning Notes
Turkish[33] Standard ğün [ˈd̪y̠jy̠n̪] 'marriage' Either post-palatal or palatal; phonetic realization of /ɣ/ (also transcribed as /ɰ/) before front vowels.[33] See Turkish phonology

See also

References

Bibliography

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