IPA – number	141
IPA – text	ɣ
IPA – image
Entity	ɣ
X-SAMPA	G
Kirshenbaum	Q
Sound sample (help·info)

The voiced velar fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in various spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ɣ (a variant of the Greek letter γ, gamma, which is used for this sound in Modern Greek), also graphically similar to ɤ, the IPA symbol for a close-mid back unrounded vowel), and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is G. The symbol ɣ is also sometimes used to represent the velar approximant, though that is more accurately written with the lowering diacritic: [ɣ̞] or [ɣ˕]. The IPA also provides a dedicated symbol for a velar approximant, [ɰ], though there can be stylistic reasons to not use it in phonetic transcription.

[edit] Features

Features of the voiced velar 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 part of the tongue (the dorsum) against the soft palate (the velum).
• Its phonation type is voiced, which means the vocal cords are vibrating during the articulation.
• It is an oral consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth.
• It is a central consonant, which means it is produced by allowing the airstream to flow over the middle of the tongue, rather than the sides.
• The airstream mechanism is pulmonic egressive, which means it is articulated by pushing air out of the lungs and through the vocal tract, rather than from the glottis or the mouth.

[edit] Occurrence

Language		Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Alekano		gamó	[ɣɑmɤʔ]	'cucumber'
Angor		ranihı	[ɾɑniɣə]	'brother'
Angas		γür	[ɣyr]	'to pick up'
Arabic		غرفة	[ˈɣurfɐ]	'room'	May be post-velar or uvular depending on dialect. See Arabic phonology
Asu		[fiɣo]		'kidney'
Azerbaijani		ağac	[aɣadʒ]	'tree'
Catalan[1]		bolígraf	[buˈliɣɾəf]	'ballpoint'	See Catalan phonology
Chechen		гӀала/ġala	[ɣaːla]	'town'
Dinka		ɣo	[ɣo]	'us'
Dutch		gaan	[ɣaːn] (help·info)	'to go'	More common in northern dialects.[2] See Dutch phonology
Georgian[3]		ღარიბი	[ɣɑribi]	'poor'	May actually be post-velar or uvular
Gujarati		વાઘણ	[ʋɑ̤̈ɣəɽ̃]	'tigress'	See Gujarati phonology
Ghari		cheghe	[tʃeɣe]	'five'
Greek		γάλα	[ˈɣala]	'milk'	See Modern Greek phonology
Gweno		[ndeɣe]		'bird'
Gwich'in		videeghàn	[viteːɣân]	'his/her chest'
Hän		dëgëghor	[təkəɣor]	'I am playing.'
Hindi		ग़रीब	[ɣəriːb]	'poor'	See Hindi-Urdu phonology
Irish		dhorn	[ɣoːɾˠn̪ˠ]	'fist'	See Irish phonology
Iwaidja		[mulaɣa]		'hermit crab'
Japanese[4]		はげ	[haɣe]	'baldness'	Especially in fast and/or casual speech. See Japanese phonology
Navajo		’aghá	[ʔaɣa]	'best'
Ngwe	Mmockngie dialect	[nøɣə̀]		'sun'
Occitan	Gascon	digoc	[diˈɣuk]	'said (3sg.)'
Pashto		غاتر	[ɣɑtər]	'mule'
Persian		کاغذ	[kɒɣæz]	'paper'	See Persian phonology
Polish		niechże	[ɲeɣʐɛ]	'let,' 'suppose'	See Polish phonology
Portuguese	European[5]	agora	[əˈɣorə]	'now'	Allophone of /ɡ/ in northern and central dialects.[6] See Portuguese phonology
	Some Brazilian dialects[7]	carro	[ˈkaɣu]	'car'	Rhotic consonant
Northern Qiang		?	[ɣnəʂ]	'February'
Romani	Lithuanian	γoines	[ɣoines]	'good'
Sardinian	Nuorese dialect	súghere	[ˈsuɣɛrɛ]	'to suck'
Sindhi		غم	[ɣəmʊ]	'sadness'
Swahili		ghali	[ɣali]	'expensive'
Tadaksahak		?	[zoɣ]	'war'
Tajik		ғафс	[ɣafs]	'thick'
Tiwi		ngaga	[ˈŋaɣa]	'we inclusive'
Turkish		ağaç	[aɣatʃ]	'tree'	Certain dialects. See Turkish phonology
Tutchone	Northern	ihghú	[ihɣǔ]	'tooth'
	Southern	ghra	[ɣra]	'baby'
Urdu		غریب	[ɣəriːb]	'poor'	See Hindi-Urdu phonology
Vietnamese		ghê	[ɣe]	'to have a horror; terribly'	See Vietnamese phonology

[edit] See also

• List of phonetics topics

[edit] References

[edit] Bibliography

• Barbosa, Plínio A. (2004), "Brazilian Portuguese", Journal of the International Phonetic Association 34 (2): 227-232
• Cruz-Ferreira, Madalena (1995), "European Portuguese", Journal of the International Phonetic Association 25 (2): 90-94
• Mateus, Maria Helena & Ernesto d'Andrade (2000), The Phonology of Portuguese, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-823581-X
• Okada, Hideo (1991), "Japanese", Journal of the International Phonetic Association 21 (2): 94-97
• Shosted, Ryan K. & Chikovani Vakhtang (2006), "Standard Georgian", Journal of the International Phonetic Association 36 (2): 255-264
• Wheeler, Max W (2005), written at Oxford, The Phonology Of Catalan, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0199258147