Voiceless labial–uvular plosive

Voiceless labial–uvular plosive
Voiceless labial–uvular plosive
q͡p
Audio sample
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Encoding
X-SAMPA	q_p

A voiceless labial–uvular plosive is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. It is a [q] and [p] pronounced simultaneously. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨q͡p⟩.

Features

The features of a voiceless labial–uvular plosive are:

Its manner of articulation is occlusive, which means it is produced by obstructing airflow in the vocal tract. Since the consonant is also oral, with no nasal outlet, it is a plosive.
Its place of articulation is labial–uvular, which means that it is simultaneously articulated with the tongue against the uvula and the lips.
Its phonation is voiceless, which means it is produced without vibrations of the vocal cords. In some languages the vocal cords are actively separated, so it is always voiceless; in others the cords are lax, so that it may take on the voicing of adjacent sounds.
It is an oral consonant, which means that air is not allowed to escape through the nose.
It is a median consonant, which means it is produced by directing the airstream down the midline of the tongue, rather than to the sides.
Its airstream mechanism is pulmonic, which means it is articulated by pushing air only with the intercostal muscles and abdominal muscles, as in most speech sounds.


Family	Language	Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Trans-New Guinea	Iha		[q͡pawɔ́da]	translation not given
Central Sudanese	Lese		[uq͡pa]	'tree'	Allophone of /q͡ɓ/. In the source itself, the meaning of /q͡ɓ/ is unclear, but /q͡ɓ/ seems to be a voiceless labial–uvular stop with significant lowering and a strong release. Contrasts /k͡p, q͡ɓ, ɡ͡b, ɠ͡ɓ/.

1 2 Demolin, Didier; Teston, Bernard (September 1997). "Phonetic characteristics of double articulations in some Mangbutu-Efe languages" (PDF). International Speech Communication Association: 803–806.
1 2 Güldemann, Tom (2018-09-10). The Languages and Linguistics of Africa. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. ISBN 978-3-11-042175-0.
↑ Vorbichler, Anton (1965). Die Phonologie und Morphologie des Balese (Ituri-Urwald, Kongo) (in German). J.J. Augustin.
↑ Al-Gariri, Husam Saeed Salem Al-Gariri (2022). Prenasalized Stops in Iha: an acoustic analysis of allophonic variation (PDF). University of Amsterdam. p. 9. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
↑ Vorbichler 1965.

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