Voiceless Palatal Fricative

The voiceless palatal fricative is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages.

The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ç, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is C. It is the non-sibilant equivalent of the voiceless alveolo-palatal fricative.

Voiceless palatal fricative
ç
IPA Number138
Audio sample
Encoding
Entity (decimal)ç
Unicode (hex)U+00E7
X-SAMPAC
Braille⠖ (braille pattern dots-235)⠉ (braille pattern dots-14)
Voiceless palatal approximant
IPA Number153 402A
Encoding
Entity (decimal)j​̊
Unicode (hex)U+006A U+030A
X-SAMPAj_0

The symbol ç is the letter c with a cedilla (◌̧), as used to spell French and Portuguese words such as façade and ação. However, the sound represented by the symbol ç in French and Portuguese orthography is not a voiceless palatal fricative; the cedilla, instead, changes the usual /k/, the voiceless velar plosive, when c is employed before a or o, to /s/, the voiceless alveolar fricative.

Palatal fricatives are relatively rare phonemes, and only 5% of the world's languages have /ç/ as a phoneme. The sound further occurs as an allophone of /x/ (e.g. in German or Greek), or, in other languages, of /h/ in the vicinity of front vowels.

There is also the voiceless post-palatal fricative in some languages, which is articulated slightly farther back compared with the place of articulation of the prototypical voiceless palatal fricative, though not as back as the prototypical voiceless velar fricative. The International Phonetic Alphabet does not have a separate symbol for that sound, though it can be transcribed as ç̠, ç˗ (both symbols denote a retracted ç) or (advanced x). The equivalent X-SAMPA symbols are C_- and x_+, respectively.

Especially in broad transcription, the voiceless post-palatal fricative may be transcribed as a palatalized voiceless velar fricative ( in the IPA, x' or x_j in X-SAMPA).

Some scholars also posit the voiceless palatal approximant distinct from the fricative, found in a few spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is  j̊ , the voiceless homologue of the voiced palatal approximant.

The palatal approximant can in many cases be considered the semivocalic equivalent of the voiceless variant of the close front unrounded vowel [i̥]. The sound is essentially an Australian English ⟨y⟩ (as in year) pronounced strictly without vibration of the vocal cords.

It is found as a phoneme in Jalapa Mazatec and Washo as well as in Kildin Sami.

Features

Voiceless Palatal Fricative 
Voiceless palatal fricative (ç)

Features of the voiceless palatal fricative:

  • 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 palatal, which means it is articulated with the middle or back part of the tongue raised to the hard palate. The otherwise identical post-palatal variant is articulated slightly behind the hard palate, making it sound slightly closer to the velar [x].
  • 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.
  • It is a central consonant, which means it is produced by directing the airstream along the center of the tongue, rather than to the sides.
  • The airstream mechanism is pulmonic, which means it is articulated by pushing air solely with the intercostal muscles and abdominal muscles, as in most sounds.

Occurrence

Palatal

Language Word IPA Meaning Notes
Assamese সীমা / xima [ç̠ima] 'limit/border'
Azerbaijani Some dialects çörək [tʃœˈɾæç] 'bread' Allophone of /c/.
Chinese Taizhou dialect [çi] 'to play' Corresponds to alveolo-palatal /ɕ/ in other Wu dialects.
Meixian dialect [çʲɔŋ˦] 'fragrant' Corresponds to palatatized fricative /hj/ in romanised as "hi-" or "hy-" Hakka dialect writing.
Standard / piào [pj̊äʊ̯˥˩] 'ticket' Common allophony of /j/ after aspirated consonants. Normally transcribed as [pʰj]. See Standard Chinese phonology
Danish Standard pjaske [ˈpçæskə] 'splash' May be alveolo-palatal [ɕ] instead. Before /j/, aspiration of /p, t, k/ is realized as devoicing and fortition of /j/. Note, however, that the sequence /tj/ is normally realized as an affricate [t͡ɕ]. See Danish phonology
Dutch Standard Northern wiegje [ˈʋiçjə] 'crib' Allophone of /x/ before /j/ for some speakers. See Dutch phonology
English Australian hue [çʉː] 'hue' Phonetic realization of the sequence /hj/. See Australian English phonology and English phonology
British
Scouse like [laɪ̯ç] 'like' Allophone of /k/; ranges from palatal to uvular, depending on the preceding vowel. See English phonology
Estonian vihm [viçm] 'rain' Allophone of /h/. See Estonian phonology
Finnish vihko [ʋiçko̞] 'notebook' Allophone of /h/. See Finnish phonology
French Parisian merci [mɛʁˈsi̥ç] 'thank you' The close vowels /i, y, u/ and the mid front /e, ɛ/ at the end of utterances can be devoiced. See French phonology
German nicht 'not' Traditionally allophone of /x/, or vice versa, but phonemic for some speakers who have both /aːx/ and /aːç/ (< /aʁç/). See Standard German phonology.
Haida xíl [çɪ́l] 'leaf'
Hmong White (Dawb) xya [ça] 'seven' Corresponds to alveolo-palatal /ɕ/ in Dananshan dialect
Green (Njua)
Hungarian kapj [ˈkɒpç] 'get' (imperative) Allophone of /j/ between a voiceless obstruent and a word boundary. See Hungarian phonology
Icelandic hérna [ˈçɛrtn̥a] 'here' See Icelandic phonology
Irish a Sheáin çaːnʲ] 'John' (voc.) See Irish phonology
Jalapa Mazatec [example needed] Described as an approximant. Contrasts with plain voiced /j/ and glottalized voiced /ȷ̃/.
Japanese / hito [çi̥to̞] 'person' Allophone of /h/ before /i/ and /j/. See Japanese phonology
Kabyle til [çtil] 'to measure'
Korean / him [çim] 'strength' Allophone of /h/ word-initially before /i/ and /j/. See Korean phonology
Norwegian Urban East kjekk [çe̞kː] 'handsome' Often alveolo-palatal [ɕ] instead; younger speakers in Bergen, Stavanger and Oslo merge it with /ʂ/. See Norwegian phonology
Pashto Ghilji dialect پـښـه [pça] 'foot' See Pashto phonology
Wardak dialect
Romanian Standard vlahi [vlaç] 'valahians' Allophone of /h/ before /i/. Typically transcribed with [hʲ]. See Romanian phonology
Russian Standard твёрдый / tvjordyj 'hard' Possible realization of /j/. See Russian phonology
Scottish Gaelic eich [eç] 'horses' See Scottish Gaelic phonology and orthography
Sicilian ciumi [ˈçumɪ] 'river' Allophone of /ʃ/ and, before atonic syllables, of /t͡ʃ/. This is the natural Sicilian evolution of any Latin word containing a〈-FL-〉nexus. See Sicilian phonology
Spanish Chilean mujer [muˈçe̞ɾ] 'woman' Allophone of /x/ before front vowels. See Spanish phonology
Turkish hile [çiːʎ̟ɛ] 'trick' Allophone of /h/. See Turkish phonology
Walloon texhe [tɛç] 'to knit'
Welsh hiaith [çaɪ̯θ] 'language' Occurs in words where /h/ comes before /j/ due to h-prothesis of the original word, i.e. /jaɪ̯θ/ iaith 'language' becomes ei hiaith 'her language', resulting in /j/ i/ç/ hi. See Welsh phonology

Post-palatal

Language Word IPA Meaning Notes
Belarusian глухі / hluchí [ɣɫuˈxʲi] 'deaf' Typically transcribed in IPA with . See Belarusian phonology
Dutch Standard Belgian acht [ɑx̟t] 'eight' May be velar [x] instead. See Dutch phonology
Southern accents
Greek ψυχή / psychí 'soul' See Modern Greek phonology
Limburgish Weert dialect ich [ɪ̞x̟] 'I' Allophone of /x/ before and after front vowels. See Weert dialect phonology
Lithuanian chemija Very rare; typically transcribed in IPA with . See Lithuanian phonology
Russian Standard хинди / xindi [ˈx̟indʲɪ] 'Hindi' Typically transcribed in IPA with . See Russian phonology
Spanish mujer [muˈx̟e̞ɾ] 'woman' Allophone of /x/ before front vowels. See Spanish phonology
Ukrainian хід / xid [x̟id̪] 'course' Typically transcribed in IPA with . See Ukrainian phonology
Uzbek xurma [x̟urma] 'date palm' Weakly fricated; occurs word-initially and pre-consonantally, otherwise it is post-velar [].

Voiceless approximant

Language Word IPA Meaning Notes
Breton Bothoa dialect [example needed] Contrasts voiceless /j̊/, plain voiced /j/ and nasal voiced /ȷ̃/ approximants.
English Australian [example needed] Allophone of /j/. See Australian English phonology
New Zealand [example needed] Allophone of /j/, also can be [ç] instead. See New Zealand English phonology
French [example needed] Allophone of /j/. See French phonology
Jalapa Mazatec [example needed] Contrasts voiceless /j̊/, plain voiced /j/ and glottalized voiced /ȷ̃/ approximants.
Japanese [example needed] Colloquial, Allophone of /j/
Scottish Gaelic a-muigh [əˈmuj̊] 'outside' (directional) Allophone of /j/ and /ʝ/. See Scottish Gaelic phonology
Washo t'á:Yaŋi [ˈtʼaːj̊aŋi] 'he's hunting' Contrasts voiceless /j̊/ and voiced /j/ approximants.
Koyukon (Denaakk'e) [example needed] Contrasts voiceless /j̊/ and voiced /j/ approximants.

See also

Notes

Tags:

Voiceless Palatal Fricative FeaturesVoiceless Palatal Fricative OccurrenceVoiceless Palatal FricativeConsonantInternational Phonetic AlphabetLanguageSpeech communicationVoiceless alveolo-palatal fricativeX-SAMPAÇ

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