Voiced bilabial fricative

Uncommon card · No. 138800

A voiced bilabial fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is either a Latin or Greek-style beta, ⟨β⟩. This letter is also often used to represent a § voiced bilabial approximant, though that is more precisely written with a lowering diacritic, that is ⟨β̞⟩. This sound may also be transcribed as an advanced labiodental approximant ⟨ʋ̟⟩, in which case the diacritic is again frequently omitted, since no contrast between the two is likely within a language. It has been proposed that either a turned ⟨β⟩ or reversed ⟨β⟩, among others, be used as a dedicated symbol for the bilabial approximant; however, despite occasional usage, none have gained general acceptance. It is extremely rare for a language to make a phonemic contrast between a voiced bilabial fricative and a bilabial approximant. The Mapos Buang language of New Guinea contains this contrast. Its bilabial approximant is analyzed...

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