A labial–coronal consonant is a consonant produced with two simultaneous articulators: with the lips ('labial'; a [p], [b], or [m] sound), and with the tongue (at the teeth or gums, a 'dental' or 'alveolar' [t], [d] or [n] sound, or further back, a 'post-alveolar' or 'retroflex' [ʈ], [ɖ] or [ɳ] sound).
Several languages have been claimed to have such sounds, such as Margi and Bura in Nigeria. However, most researchers interpret them as having sequences of labial and coronal consonants, a rather common occurrence in Africa. The Yélî Dnye language of Rossel Island, Papua New Guinea, appears to be unique in having distinct laminal labial–alveolar (i.e. labial–denti-alveolar) and labial–retroflex (i.e. apical to sub-apical labial–postalveolar) places of articulation, as illustrated below.
| Stops in Yelî Dnye | Bilabial | Alveolar | Retroflex | Velar | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stop | paa | side | t̪aa | knife | ʈoo | tongue | kaa | spear |
| Prenasalized stop | mbee | carry | n̪d̪e | food | ɳɖe | firewood | ŋɡaa | tree |
| Nasal | maa | road | n̪ii | juice | ɳaa | feast | ŋa | lease |
| Stops in Yelî Dnye | Labial–alveolar | Labial–retroflex | Labial–velar | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stop | t̪͡pənə | lung | ʈ͡pənə | horn | k͡pene | coconut bag |
| Prenasalized stop | n͡md̪͡boo | pulp | ɳ͡mɖ͡boo | many | ŋ͡mɡ͡bo | fog |
| Nasal | n̪͡mo | bird | ɳ͡mo | we | ŋ͡mo | breast |
Labial–coronal allophones
In some Ghanaian languages such as Dagbani, and Nzema, there are palatalized allophones of labial–velars. These are sometimes mistakenly referred to as labial–alveolars, though they actually have a post-alveolar or palatal articulation instead of a true alveolar one.
Something similar is found with the labialized alveolar stops in several Northwest and Northeast Caucasian languages such as Abkhaz and Lak. Although the double stop articulation may be more common, they are generally considered to be essentially labialized alveolars because the labial contact is light, and moreover the contact is between the inner surfaces of the lips, which are protruded as they are for [w]. This is quite different from the normal contact for [p] in these languages. The labial contact may also be realized as a trill. Compare the following minimal sets in Ubykh:
| da | now | dʷa ~ d͡ba ~ d͡ʙa | awl | ba | if |
| ta | pregnant | tʷa ~ t͡pa ~ t͡ʙ̥a | cherry | pa | to weave |
| tʼə | ram | tʷʼə ~ t͡pʼə ~ t͡ʙ̥ʼə | to take out |
Some speakers of !Xóõ have a labial–dental allophone, [ʘ͡ǀ] (or [ʘ͡ʇ]), of the bilabial click /ʘ/ in some cases (Traill 1985: 103–104).
Discounting clicks otherwise as having a velar/lingual airstream mechanism rather than a double articulation, nearly all other doubly articulated consonants in the world are labial–velars. The labial-alveolars reported from some Chadic languages have upon investigation turned out to be /tp/, /db/, /nm/ and /dɓ/ sequences, not single consonants. (See Margi language.)
- Ladefoged, Peter; Maddieson, Ian (1996). The Sounds of the World's Languages. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 0-631-19815-6.
References
Levinson, Stephen C. (23 May 2022). A Grammar of Yélî Dnye: The Papuan Language of Rossel Island. De Gruyter. doi:10.1515/9783110733853. ISBN 978-3-11-073385-3. S2CID 249083265. Retrieved 16 January 2023. 978-3-11-073385-3 ↩
Henderson, James (1995). Phonology and Grammar of Yele, Papua New Guinea (PDF). Pacific Linguistics. ISBN 0 85883 428 6. 0 85883 428 6 ↩