Approximant — Safekipedia Adventurer

Approximants are special sounds we use when we talk. They happen when parts of our mouth move close together but not too close. This makes a soft sound, not as noisy as some other sounds and not as open as vowels.

Approximants include sounds like the "r" in "rest" and sounds called semivowels, such as the "y" in "yes" and the "w" in "west". There are also lateral approximants, like the "l" in "less". These sounds help words sound different and make talking smoother.

Terminology

Before Peter Ladefoged introduced the term approximant in the 1960s, people used words like frictionless continuant and semivowel to describe certain sounds.

In phonology, an approximant is a special sound feature. It includes all sonorants except nasals. This group also includes vowels, taps, and trills.

Semivowels

Main article: Semivowel

Some approximants sound like vowels and are called semivowels or glides. These sounds don’t form a syllable on their own but are very similar to vowels. For example, in English, the “y” sound in yes and the “w” sound in west are semivowels.

Languages often switch between vowels and semivowels depending on the word or its meaning. For instance, in English, the ending of words can change whether a sound acts like a vowel or a semivowel.

Approximant-vowel correspondences
Vowel	Corresponding approximant	Place of articulation	Example
i	j**	Palatal	Spanish amplío ('I extend') vs. amplió ('he extended')
y	ɥ	Labialized palatal	French aigu ('sharp') vs. aiguille ('needle')
ɯ	ɰ**	Velar	Korean 음식 ('food') vs. 의사 ('doctor')
u	w	Labialized velar	Spanish continúo ('I continue') vs. continuó ('he/she/it continued') and ('you continued') used only in the formal treatment of usted.
ɑ	ʕ̞	Pharyngeal
ɚ	ɻ	Postalveolar, retroflex^*	North American English waiter vs. waitress

Approximants versus fricatives

Central approximants

Approximants are speech sounds made when parts of the mouth come close together but not so close that they create friction. Think of sounds like in "red" or "yes". These sounds are softer than fricatives and closer to vowels.

Some common central approximants include the labiodental approximant [ʋ], the alveolar & post-alveolar approximants [ɹ], the retroflex approximant [ɻ], the palatal approximant [j], and the velar approximant [ɰ].

Glottal approximants

Glottal approximants are special sounds made using the larynx. They change depending on the sounds around them.

Lateral approximants

In lateral approximants, the tongue touches the top of the mouth in the middle. The sides of the tongue move near the teeth, letting air flow around them. This makes a smooth sound without friction.

Some common lateral approximants include:

voiced alveolar lateral approximant [l]
retroflex lateral approximant [ɭ]
alveolo-palatal lateral approximant [l̠ʲ] or [ʎ̟] (usually transcribed ⟨ȴ⟩)
voiced palatal lateral approximant [ʎ]
velar lateral approximant [ʟ]
uvular lateral approximant [ʟ̠]

Coarticulated approximants

Coarticulated approximants are special sounds made when two parts of the mouth work together. One example is the labial–palatal approximant [ɥ], which sounds like a version of the sound y. Another is the labial–velar approximant [w], which sounds like a version of the sound u. These sounds show how different areas of the mouth can work together to make unique speech sounds.

Voiceless approximants

Some people wonder if voiceless approximants can really exist. This is because without voice, the air might move in a way that makes the sound more like a fricative. But new studies show that air moves differently when making these sounds. Voiced approximants usually have smooth air movement, while voiceless ones can sometimes have a little turbulence.

Voiceless approximants are not very common in languages and are often mixed up with fricatives. Some researchers think that if a sound is a true approximant, it should be quiet without voice or friction, which makes voiceless approximants confusing. Examples of languages with these sounds are Burmese, Standard Tibetan, Navajo, and Zulu. In Western American English, voiceless lateral approximants can appear after certain sounds, like the "k" sound.