Sj-sound
The "sj"-sound ( ) is a voiceless fricative phoneme found in most dialects of the sound system of Swedish. It has a variety of realisations, whose precise phonetic characterisation is a matter of debate, but which usually feature distinct labialization. The sound is represented in Swedish orthography by a number of spellings, including the digraph from which the common Swedish name for the sound is derived, as well as , , and (before front vowels) . The sound should not be confused with the Swedish "tj"-sound , often spelled , , or (before front vowels) . The sound is transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet. The International  Phonetic Association (IPA) describes it as a "simultaneous and ", but this realization is not attested from any language, and phoneticians doubt that it occurs in other languages. Other descriptive labels include: The closest sound found in English is (Swedish words with the sound correspond to English words with "sh"), with another approximation being the voiceless labialized velar approximant found in some English dialects. Regionally, it varies from being more -like in the standard speech, to being more -like in northern Sweden and Finland. Features. Features of the "sj"-sound: Occurrence. Dialects of Swedish. This sound has been reported in certain dialects  of Swedish, where it is most often known as the "sj"-sound. Its place of articulation varies over Swedish regions and is not agreed upon. It has been variously found to be the following: Consider the following comments by Peter Ladefoged and Ian Maddieson: Kölsch. A sound transcribed as is also reported to occur in the Kölsch variety of Ripuarian in Germany, being articulated in positions in words that enveloping Standard German has . The acoustic difference between and the Kölsch is difficult to perceive but the articulation is clearly distinct. Whether or not there is a relation between Swedish and the  Kölsch is not known. While none seems to have been established, comments suggest that the choice of might well have been based upon a misunderstanding. Certainly, the Kölsch is not doubly articulated and even contrasts with a slightly velarized . Some phoneticians suggest contrasting with , as is done in Polish, but this is not established practice, and may need further research. Wutun. A sound transcribed as is also reported word-initially and word-medially in the Wutun language, where it has been described as a dorso-palatal/velar glide.