Velarization is a secondary articulation of consonants by which the back of the tongue is raised toward the velum during the articulation of the consonant. Secondary articulation refers to co-articulated consonants (consonants produced simultaneously at two places of articulation) where the two articulations are not of the same manner. ... A consonant is a sound in spoken language that is characterized by a closure or stricture sufficient to cause audible turbulence, at one or more points along the vocal tract. ... Many animals have longer and more flexible tongues than humans. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...
The velarized alveolar lateral approximant (or dark l) of many accents of English is an example of a velarized consonant. The velarized alveolar lateral approximant (also called dark l) is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. ... Accents mark speakers as a member of a group by their pronunciation of the standard language. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...
In many languages, including Irish and Russian, velarized consonants contrast phonemically with palatalized consonants. The palatalized/velarized contrast is often known by other names, especially in language pedagogy: in Irish language teaching, the terms slender (for palatalized) and broad (for velarized) are often used, while in Russian language teaching, the terms soft (for palatalized) and hard (for velarized) are usual. The terms light (for palatalized) and dark (for velarized) are also widespread. In oral language, a phoneme is the theoretical basic unit of sound that can be used to distinguish words or morphemes; in sign language, it is a similarly basic unit of hand shape, motion, position, or facial expression. ... Palatalization means pronouncing a sound nearer to the hard palate, making it more like a palatal consonant; this is towards the front of the mouth for a velar or uvular consonant, but towards the back of the mouth for a front (e. ...
In the International Phonetic Alphabet, velarization can be indicated by one of two methods: The International Phonetic Alphabet. ...
printing a tilde or swung dash through the letter indicates velarization or pharyngealization, as in [ɫ] (the velarized equivalent of [l], or
printing the symbol [ˠ] (a superscriptgamma) after the letter standing for the velarized consonant, as in [tˠ] (the velarized equivalent of [t].
Velars are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue (the dorsum) against the soft palate (the back part of the roof of the mouth, known also as the velum).
Since the velar region of the roof of the mouth is relatively extensive and the movements of the dorsum are not very precise, velars easily undergo assimilation, shifting their articulation back or to the front depending on the quality of adjacent vowels.
Many languages also have labialized velars, such as [kʷ], in which the articulation is accompanied by rounding of the lips.