Velar
From KneeQuickie
Velar sounds are those articulated at the velum, or soft palate. Because velar consonants are at the back of the mouth, they are always dorsal (articulated with the back of the tongue). Apical velar consonants are impossible for a regularly equipped human being. Back vowels are also velar, but vowels are more usually described as front, central and back to allow room for finer distinctions, so the term velar is normally applied only to consonants.
Nearly all natlangs include velar consonants, with the plosives, fricatives and nasal all being at least fairly common.
The IPA has the following symbols for velar consonants (for vowels, see vowels):
| IPA | X-Sampa | |
| Unvoiced plosive | /k/ | /k/ |
| Voiced plosive | /g/ | /g/ |
| Unvoiced fricative | /x/ | /x/ |
| Voiced fricative | /ɣ/ | /G/ |
| Voiced nasal stop | /ŋ/ | /N/ |
| Voiced approximant | /ɰ/ | /M\/ |
| Voiced lateral approximant | /ʟ/ | /L\/ |
In addition, there was formerly a symbol for the velar click, /ʞ/, but this was later removed from the IPA, as the sound does not occur in natlangs.
Z-Sampa includes symbols for the velar click: /k\/ or /k_!/.
Z-Sampa also includes symbols for the following velar sounds:
- Unvoiced lateral fricative: /F\/
- Voiced lateral fricative: /V\/
- Nareal fricative: /N_:/
