Velars

English has the velar stops, [k], [ɡ], and [ŋ].

The velar approximant [ɰ] is essentially the high back unrounded vowel [ɯ] acting as a consonant. It is one of the two gestures (the other being lip rounding) used in [w]. The velar approximant [ɰ] is also part of dark [ɫ].

The voiceless velar fricative [x] can be heard at the end of Scottish English loch [lɔx] or German Bach [bɑx].

Velar laterals have been reported for a tiny number of languages in New Guinea. Not all phoneticians are convinced they really exist.

  Uvulars  |   Palatals  |   The IPA consonant chart  |   Home