Bilabial

Bilabial refers to a type of consonant sound in which both lips come together to create the sound. These sounds are a subset of the labial consonants and are found in many of the world's languages.

Characteristics

Bilabial sounds are produced by bringing both lips together. This action can create different types of sounds depending on the manner of articulation. The primary bilabial sounds include:

• Bilabial plosive: Produced by completely blocking the airflow and then releasing it, as in the sounds [p] and [b].
• Bilabial nasal: Produced by blocking the airflow in the mouth but allowing it to pass through the nose, as in the sound [m].
• Bilabial fricative: Produced by bringing the lips close together and forcing air through the narrow gap, creating a turbulent airflow, as in the sounds [ɸ] and [β].
• Bilabial approximant: Produced by bringing the lips close together without creating turbulent airflow, as in the sound [β̞].

Examples in Languages

Bilabial sounds are common across many languages. For instance:

• In English, the sounds [p], [b], and [m] are bilabial.
• In Spanish, the sounds [p], [b], and [m] are also bilabial, with the addition of the bilabial fricative [β].
• In Japanese, the sounds [p], [b], and [m] are present, with the bilabial fricative [ɸ] occurring in some dialects.

Phonetic Transcription

In the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), bilabial sounds are represented by specific symbols:

• [p] for the voiceless bilabial plosive
• [b] for the voiced bilabial plosive
• [m] for the bilabial nasal
• [ɸ] for the voiceless bilabial fricative
• [β] for the voiced bilabial fricative
• [β̞] for the bilabial approximant

Related Pages

• Labial consonant
• Plosive consonant
• Nasal consonant
• Fricative consonant
• Approximant consonant
• International Phonetic Alphabet
• Phonetics
• Phonology

See Also

• Voiceless bilabial plosive
• Voiced bilabial plosive
• Bilabial nasal
• Voiceless bilabial fricative
• Voiced bilabial fricative
• Bilabial approximant