In phonetics, we analyze speech sounds and classify them into either vowels or consonants. The consonant sounds are then defined by their manner of articulation, place of articulation, and voicing. There are 11 possible places of articulation, one of which is labiodental.
Throughout this article, we'll have a look at the following:
- What labiodental means
- Labiodental consonants
- Labiodental fricatives
- Labiodental sounds
- Labiodental examples
Consonant Sounds
As we said, consonant sounds can be described and categorized according to three different criteria:
Manner of articulation
Place of articulation
Voicing
Before we look at what these are in more detail, let's first make sure we know what a consonant sound is.
A consonant is a speech sound created when there is some form of narrowing of the vocal tract or obstruction to airflow during sound production.
This differs from a vowel which is created when there is no obstruction to the airflow during sound production.
Manner of Articulation
Manner of articulation refers to how consonant sounds are produced. Specifically, this refers to how the air is released from the lungs and through either the oral cavity or nasal cavity. There are eight different manners of articulation:
Plosive
Nasal
Trill
Tap or flap
Fricative
Lateral fricative
Approximant
Lateral approximant
Place of Articulation
Place of articulation refers to where a consonant sound is produced.
A consonant's place of articulation is where partial or full blockage to the airflow takes place.
There are 11 different places of articulation:
Bilabial
Labiodental
Dental
Alveolar
Post-alveolar
Retroflex
Palatal
Velar
Uvula
Pharyngeal
Glottal
Voicing
Voicing refers to whether or not a consonant sound is voiced.
Voiced refers to a speech sound that is produced when the vocal cords are vibrating.
Voiceless refers to a speech sound produced when the vocal cords are not vibrating.
You can tell if a speech sound is voiced by placing your fingers lightly on your throat while creating a sound. If you're making a voiced sound, you'll be able to feel vibrations under your fingers, and if it's a voiceless sound, you won't feel anything.
Fig. 2. If you touch your throat while speaking, you'll be able to tell which sounds are voiced and which are voiceless.
Place your fingers on your throat while humming, and you'll feel vibrations.
Then whisper a sentence while keeping your fingers on your throat.
Which sound is voiced?
Useful to know - only consonant sounds can be either voiced or voiceless. Vowel sounds can only be voiced.
Labiodental Meaning
So, what sort of consonant sound are we specifically focussing on today? That'll be labiodentals.
What does labiodental mean?
Labiodental refers to a consonant speech sound produced when the bottom lip touches the upper teeth.
Here's a good way to remember the meaning:
Labio = lips
Dental = teeth
How is a labiodental produced?
A labiodental consonant sound is produced when airflow is released through the oral cavity, and there is a partial or complete obstruction where the upper teeth and lower lip make contact.
Labiodental Consonants
Now that we know how a labiodental consonant is produced, let's look at what the labiodental consonants are.
There are five possible human speech sounds that have labiodental as their place of articulation. These are:
/ɱ/ - labiodental nasal
/ⱱ/ - labiodental tap or flap
/f/ - labiodental fricative
/v/ - labiodental fricative
/ʋ/ - labiodental approximant
Only two of these labiodental sounds are used in the English language. These are the two fricative sounds, which we'll now look at in more detail.
Labiodental Fricatives
The two labiodental sounds that are used in spoken English are the voiced labiodental fricative /v/ and the voiceless labiodental fricative /f/.
A fricative is a consonant sound created when the airflow is released through a narrow opening, causing friction as the air is released.
Labiodental Sounds in English
So, let's have a closer look at how the two English labiodental (labiodental fricatives) sounds are produced.
Place of articulation
The place of articulation is labiodental. For these two sounds to be produced, the upper teeth make contact with the lower lip, allowing some air to be released through the teeth.
Some English words that include sounds with labiodental as a place of articulation are:
- free - /fɹi:/
- fervour - /fə:və/
- view - /vju:/
- five - /fʌɪv/
Say these words and try to take notice of when your upper teeth touch your lower lip.
Manner of articulation
The manner of articulation for both of the English labiodental sounds is fricative. This means that the airflow is partially obstructed, causing some friction during sound articulation. The partial obstruction in the case of the /f/ and /v/ sounds is caused by the teeth making contact with the lip, causing only small gaps for air to be released in between the teeth.
Examples of fricative sounds used in English are:
/f/ /v/ /ʒ/ /ʃ/ /s/ /z/ /θ/ /ð/ /h/
These are used in words such as:
- fickle - /fɪkəl/
- venture - /vɛntʃə/
- badge - /bædʒ/
- sheer - /ʃɪə/
- seas - /si:s/
- zoo - /zu:/
- theatre - /θɪətə/
- there - /ðɛ:/
- happy - /hæpi/
Voicing
The two labiodental sounds /f/ and /v/ are examples of a voiceless sound and a voiced sound, respectively. A voiceless sound is created when there are no vibrations in the vocal cords during sound production. A voiced sound is created when there are vibrations in the vocal cords.
Some words that use the voiceless /f/ sound are:
- fissure - /fɪʃə/
- fence - /fɛns/
- brief - /bɹi:f/
Some words that use the voiced /v/ sound are:
- bereavement - /bɪɹi:vmənt/
- violet - /vʌɪələt/
- strive - /stɹʌɪv/
Labiodental Stop
Another type of labiodental sound is the stop. The labiodental stop isn't used in English, but it's useful to know what it is.
A stop is a type of speech sound created when there is a complete obstruction in the oral cavity.
The labiodental nasal /ɱ/ is a stop sound. Nasal sounds are created when there is a complete obstruction to the airflow in the oral cavity, and the air is instead released through the nasal cavity.
Fig. 3. Nasal sounds are created when air is released through the nasal cavity (the area from the nostrils to the throat).
Although the labiodental nasal looks like it could be the 'm' sound we use in English, it isn't. In English, we use the /m/ sound (as in mum), which is produced when the two lips touch. The /ɱ/ sound is produced slightly differently, with the upper teeth touching the lower lip.
The labiodental nasal stop is only reportedly used in the Kukuya language. The Kukuya language is a part of the dialect family Teke, spoken in the Western Congo and Gabon.
An example of a Kukuyan word that uses /ɱ/ is /ɱíì/, which means eyes.
This will be difficult to produce unless you're familiar with the dialect but sounds similar to /mi:/ (mee).
Labiodental Examples
We've discussed what all of the labiodental sounds are, now let's have a look at some examples of words that use the two labiodental sounds used in English.
Labiodental Sound | Example Word | Transcription of Example |
| Voiced Labiodental Fricative/v/ | vervevisiontelevisiongroovemauveNiamhofStephen | /və:v//vɪʒən//tɛləvɪʒən//gɹu:v//məʊv//ni:v//əv/ or /ɒv//sti:vən/ |
| Voiceless Labiodental Fricative/f/ | funnyleafchefbriefingphotographerlaughingpuffingiraffe | /fʌni//lif//ʃɛf//bri:fɪŋ//fətɒgɹəfə//lɑ:fɪŋ//pʌfɪn//dʒɪɹɑf/ |
Labiodental - Key takeaways
- A consonant is a speech sound created when there is some form of obstruction to the airflow during sound production.
- Labiodental is a place of articulation.
- Labiodental refers to consonant sounds produced when the top teeth make contact with the bottom lip.
- There are 5 possible labiodental sounds: /f/, /v/, /ɱ/, /ⱱ/, and /ʋ/.
- Two of the labiodental sounds are used in the English language. These are:
- Voiced labiodental fricative /v/
- Voiceless labiodental fricative /f/
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