# Voiceless labial–velar fricative

The voiceless labial–velar fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨xʷ⟩ or occasionally ⟨ʍ⟩. The letter ⟨ʍ⟩ was defined as a "voiceless [w]" until 1979, when it was defined as a fricative with the place of articulation of [k͡p] the same way that [w] is an approximant with the place of articulation of [ɡ͡b]. The IPA Handbook describes ⟨ʍ⟩ as a "fricative" in the introduction (IPA 1999: ix) while a chapter within characterizes it as an "approximate" (IPA 1999: 136).
Some linguists posit voiceless approximants distinct from voiceless fricatives. To them, English /ʍ/ is an approximant [w̥], a labialized glottal fricative [hʷ], or an [hw] sequence, not a velar fricative. Scots /ʍ/ has been described as a velar fricative, especially in older Scots, where it was [xw]. Other linguists believe that a "voiceless approximant" is a contradiction in terms, and so [w̥] must be the same as [xʷ]. Ladefoged and Maddieson were unable to confirm that any language has fricatives produced at two places of articulation, like labial and velar. They conclude that "if it is a fricative, it is better described as a voiceless labialized velar fricative".

## Features

Features of the voiceless labial–velar fricative:
* Its manner of articulation is fricative, which means it is produced by constricting air flow through a narrow channel at the place of articulation, causing turbulence.
* Its place of articulation is labialized velar, which means it is articulated with the back part of the tongue raised toward the soft palate (the velum) while rounding the lips.
* Its phonation is voiceless, which means it is produced without vibrations of the vocal cords.
* It is an oral consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth only.
* It is a central consonant, which means it is produced by directing the airstream along the center of the tongue, rather than to the sides.
* Its airstream mechanism is pulmonic, which means it is articulated by pushing air solely with the intercostal muscles and abdominal muscles, as in most sounds.

## Occurrence

| Family | Language | Language | Word | IPA | Meaning | Notes |
| Eskimo-Aleut | Aleut | Atkan | hwax̂ | [ʍaχ] | 'smoke' | |
| Eskimo-Aleut | Aleut | Bering | ʼЎaӽ | [ʍaχ] | 'smoke' | |
| Celtic | Cornish | SWF | hwi | [ʍi] | 'you all' | |
| Germanic | English | Conservative Received Pronunciation | whine | [ʍaɪ̯n] | 'whine' | English /ʍ/ is generally a labio-velar fricative or approximant. It is usually represented phonemically as /hw/, but phonetically there is not a sequence of [h] plus [w] (see English phonology). In General American and New Zealand English only some speakers maintain a distinction with /w/; in Europe, mostly heard in Irish and Scottish accents. See English phonology and phonological history of wh. |
| Germanic | English | Cultivated South African | whine | [ʍaɪ̯n] | 'whine' | English /ʍ/ is generally a labio-velar fricative or approximant. It is usually represented phonemically as /hw/, but phonetically there is not a sequence of [h] plus [w] (see English phonology). In General American and New Zealand English only some speakers maintain a distinction with /w/; in Europe, mostly heard in Irish and Scottish accents. See English phonology and phonological history of wh. |
| Germanic | English | Conservative General American | whine | [ʍaɪ̯n] | 'whine' | English /ʍ/ is generally a labio-velar fricative or approximant. It is usually represented phonemically as /hw/, but phonetically there is not a sequence of [h] plus [w] (see English phonology). In General American and New Zealand English only some speakers maintain a distinction with /w/; in Europe, mostly heard in Irish and Scottish accents. See English phonology and phonological history of wh. |
| Germanic | English | Irish | whine | [ʍʌɪ̯n] | 'whine' | English /ʍ/ is generally a labio-velar fricative or approximant. It is usually represented phonemically as /hw/, but phonetically there is not a sequence of [h] plus [w] (see English phonology). In General American and New Zealand English only some speakers maintain a distinction with /w/; in Europe, mostly heard in Irish and Scottish accents. See English phonology and phonological history of wh. |
| Germanic | English | Scottish | whine | [ʍʌɪ̯n] | 'whine' | English /ʍ/ is generally a labio-velar fricative or approximant. It is usually represented phonemically as /hw/, but phonetically there is not a sequence of [h] plus [w] (see English phonology). In General American and New Zealand English only some speakers maintain a distinction with /w/; in Europe, mostly heard in Irish and Scottish accents. See English phonology and phonological history of wh. |
| Germanic | English | Southern American | whine | [ʍäːn] | 'whine' | English /ʍ/ is generally a labio-velar fricative or approximant. It is usually represented phonemically as /hw/, but phonetically there is not a sequence of [h] plus [w] (see English phonology). In General American and New Zealand English only some speakers maintain a distinction with /w/; in Europe, mostly heard in Irish and Scottish accents. See English phonology and phonological history of wh. |
| Germanic | English | New Zealand | whine | [ʍɑe̯n] | 'whine' | English /ʍ/ is generally a labio-velar fricative or approximant. It is usually represented phonemically as /hw/, but phonetically there is not a sequence of [h] plus [w] (see English phonology). In General American and New Zealand English only some speakers maintain a distinction with /w/; in Europe, mostly heard in Irish and Scottish accents. See English phonology and phonological history of wh. |
| Athabaskan | Hupa | Hupa | xwe꞉y | [xʷeːj] | 'his property' | A voiceless labialized velar fricative. |
| Sino-Tibetan | Kham | Gamale Kham | ह्वा | [ʍɐ] | 'tooth' | Described as an approximant. |
| Salishan | Lushootseed | Lushootseed | dxʷʔiyb | [dxʷʔib] | 'Newhalem, Washington' |
| Salishan | Shuswap | Shuswap | secwepemctsín | [ʃəxʷəpəməxˈtʃin] | 'Shuswap language' |
| Slavic | Slovene | Slovene | vse | [ˈʍsɛ] | 'everything' | Allophone of /ʋ/ in the syllable onset before voiceless consonants, in free variation with a vowel [u]. Voiced [w] before voiced consonants. See Slovene phonology. |
| Washo (isolate) | Washo (isolate) | Washo (isolate) | Wáʔi | [ˈxʷaʔi] or [ˈw̥aʔi] | 'he's the one who's doing it' | Variously described as a labialized velar fricative or a voiceless approximant. |