Voiced velar lateral fricative

A voiced velar lateral fricative is a rare consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that traditionally represents this sound is ⟨ʟ̝⟩, though in the extIPA, ⟨𝼄̬⟩ is preferred.

Voiced velar lateral fricative
ʟ̝
𝼄̬
Audio sample
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Features

Features of a voiced velar lateral 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 velar, which means it is articulated with the back of the tongue (the dorsum) at the soft palate.
• Its phonation is voiced, which means the vocal cords vibrate during the articulation.
• It is an oral consonant, which means that air is not allowed to escape through the nose.
• It is a lateral consonant, which means it is produced by directing the airstream over the sides of the tongue, rather than down the middle.
• Its airstream mechanism is pulmonic, which means it is articulated by pushing air only with the intercostal muscles and abdominal muscles, as in most sounds.

Occurrence

Language	Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Melpa	ⱡawa	[ˈʟ̝aːwa]	'wrong'	Occurs word initially and intervocalically.[1]