# Semivowel

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{{Short description|Transitional phoneme produced like a vowel but used like a syllable boundary}}
{{IPA notice}}

In [phonetics](/source/phonetics) and [phonology](/source/phonology), a '''semivowel''', '''glide''' or '''semiconsonant''' is a sound that is phonetically similar to a [vowel](/source/vowel) sound but functions as the [syllable](/source/syllable) boundary, rather than as the [nucleus](/source/syllable_nucleus) of a syllable.{{sfnp|Ladefoged|Maddieson|1996|p=322}} Examples of semivowels in English are ''y'' and ''w'' in ''yes'' and ''west'', respectively. Written {{IPAc-en|j|_|w}} in [IPA](/source/International_Phonetic_Alphabet), ''y'' and ''w'' are near to the vowels ''ee'' and ''oo'' in ''seen'' and ''moon,'' written {{IPAc-en|i:|_|u:}} in IPA. The term ''glide'' may alternatively refer to any type of transitional sound, rather than necessarily a semivowel.{{sfnp|Crystal|2008|p=211}}

==Classification==
{{Infobox IPA
| above = Non-syllabic
| ipa symbol = ◌̯
| ipa symbol2 = ◌̑
| ipa number = 
| decimal1 = 815
| decimal2 = 785
| imagefile = IPA_Unicode_0x032F.svg
}}
Semivowels form a subclass of [approximants](/source/Approximant_consonant).{{sfnp|Crystal|2008|pp=431–2}}{{sfnp|Martínez Celdrán|2004|p=9}} Although "semivowel" and "approximant" are sometimes treated as synonymous,{{sfnp|Meyer|2005|p=101}} most authors use the term "semivowel" for a more restricted set; there is no universally agreed-upon definition, and the exact details may vary from author to author. For example, {{Harvcoltxt|Ladefoged|Maddieson|1996}} do not consider the [labiodental approximant](/source/labiodental_approximant) {{IPA|[ʋ]}} to be a semivowel (see [spirant approximant](/source/spirant_approximant)).{{sfnp|Ladefoged|Maddieson|1996|p=323}} Semivowels may be distinguished from the rest of approximants via a feature of ''prolongability''; while all other approximants are ''prolongable'', semivowels are ''momentary'', as prolonging them results instead in the formation of their vocalic equivalents ({{IPA|[j, w]}} → {{IPA|[i, u]}}).<ref>{{harvtxt|Ball|2026|p=2}}, citing {{harvtxt|Catford|1982|ps=&nbsp;[1977], p. 118}}</ref>

Another ambiguity of terminology exists between the terms "semivowel" and "semiconsonant", which are also often treated as synonymous in English linguistic tradition, though the latter may be regarded as somewhat antiquated. However, in other linguistic traditions (such as [Italian](/source/Italian_language) and [Spanish](/source/Spanish_language)), a distinction is made between the two terms. In these traditions, ''semivowels'' refer to non-syllabic vowel offglides (such as {{IPA|[i̯, u̯]}}) often found as partial components of [syllable nuclei](/source/syllable_nuclei) (such as in [diphthong](/source/diphthong)s), while ''semiconsonants'' refer to consonant onglides (such as {{IPA|[j, w]}}) often found in [syllable onset](/source/syllable_onset)s.{{sfnp|Ball|2026|p=5}} An example demonstrating this difference can be observed in the interjections '''''y'''a'''y''''' {{IPA|[ˈjei̯]}} and '''''w'''o'''w''''' {{IPA|[ˈwau̯]}}.

===Transcription and coordinate vowels===
In the [International Phonetic Alphabet](/source/International_Phonetic_Alphabet), the diacritic attached to non-syllabic vowel letters is an [inverted breve](/source/inverted_breve) placed below the symbol representing the vowel: {{unichar|032F|COMBINING INVERTED BREVE BELOW|ulink=Phonetic symbols in Unicode|cwith=◌}}. When there is no room for the inverted breve under a symbol, it may be written above, using {{unichar|0311|COMBINING INVERTED BREVE|ulink=Phonetic symbols in Unicode|cwith=◌}}. Before 1989, non-syllabicity was represented by {{unichar|0306|COMBINING BREVE|ulink=Phonetic symbols in Unicode|cwith=◌}}, which now stands for [extra-shortness](/source/extra-shortness).

Additionally, there are dedicated symbols for four semivowels that correspond to the four close [cardinal vowel](/source/cardinal_vowel) sounds:{{sfnp|Martínez Celdrán|2004|p=9}}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Semivowel (non-syllabic)
! Vowel (syllabic)
|-
| {{IPAblink|j}} (palatal approximant)
| {{IPAblink|i}} (close front unrounded vowel)
|-
| {{IPAblink|ɥ}} (labio-palatal approximant)
| {{IPAblink|y}} (close front rounded vowel)
|-
| {{IPAblink|ɰ}} (velar approximant)
| {{IPAblink|ɯ}} (close back unrounded vowel)
|-
| {{IPAblink|w}} (labiovelar approximant)
| {{IPAblink|u}} (close back rounded vowel)
|}

Some authors argue for the recognition of additional semivowels:
* The [rhotic](/source/rhotic_consonant) approximants {{IPAalink|ɹ}} and {{IPAalink|ɻ}}, considered to be semivowels corresponding to [r-colored vowel](/source/r-colored_vowel)s such as {{angbr IPA|ɚ}} or {{angbr IPA|ɝ}}.{{sfnp|Ladefoged|Maddieson|1996|p=323}}{{sfnp|Martínez Celdrán|2004|p=8}}
* The pharyngeal approximant {{IPAalink|ʕ̞}}, considered to be the semivowel corresponding to the open back vowel {{IPAalink|ɑ}},{{sfnp|Esling|2010|p=695}} which is noted to have distinct pharyngeal features in its articulation.{{sfnp|Esling|2005|p=40}}
* The post-palatal approximants,<ref name="post-palatal">Instead of "post-palatal", they may be called "retracted palatal", "backed palatal", "palato-velar", "pre-velar", "advanced velar", "fronted velar" or "front-velar". For simplicity, this article uses only the term "post-palatal".</ref> or central semivowels, which may be written as {{angbr|{{IPAlink|j˗}} {{IPAlink|ɥ˗}} {{IPAlink|ɥ̫̈|w̟}}}} (diacritics for [advancing and retracting](/source/Relative_articulation)), {{angbr IPA|ȷ̈ ɥ̈ ẅ}} (diacritics for [centralization](/source/Relative_articulation)), or the para-IPA symbols {{angbr IPA|ɉ <s>ɥ</s> <s>w</s>}},<ref>[https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2024/24049-ipa-support-letter.pdf L2/24-049: Unicode support for historical and para-IPA letters]</ref> considered to be corresponding to the unrounded {{IPAalink|ɨ}}, [compressed](/source/Roundedness) {{IPAalink|ÿ}}, and protruded {{IPAalink|ʉ}} close central vowels, respectively.

==Contrast with vowels==
Semivowels, by definition, contrast with vowels by being non-syllabic. In addition, they are usually shorter than vowels.{{sfnp|Crystal|2008|pp=431–2}} In languages such as [Amharic](/source/Amharic_language), [Yoruba](/source/Yoruba_language), and [Zuni](/source/Zuni_language), semivowels are produced with a narrower constriction in the vocal tract than their corresponding vowels.{{sfnp|Ladefoged|Maddieson|1996|p=323}} Nevertheless, semivowels may be phonemically equivalent with vowels. For example, the English word ''fly'' can be considered either as an [open syllable](/source/open_syllable) ending in a [diphthong](/source/diphthong) {{IPA|/flai̯/}} or as a [closed syllable](/source/closed_syllable) ending in a consonant {{IPA|/flaj/}}.{{sfnp|Cohen|1971|p=51}}

It is unusual for a language to contrast a semivowel and a diphthong containing an equivalent vowel,{{citation needed|date=January 2010}} but [Romanian](/source/Romanian_language) contrasts the diphthong {{IPA|/e̯a/}} with {{IPA|/ja/}}, a perceptually similar approximant-vowel sequence. The diphthong is analyzed as a single segment, and the approximant-vowel sequence is analyzed as two separate segments.

In addition to phonological justifications for the distinction (such as the diphthong alternating with {{IPA|/e/}} in singular-plural pairs), there are phonetic differences between the pair:{{sfnp|Chitoran|2002|pp=212–214}}
*{{IPA|/ja/}} has a greater duration than {{IPA|/e̯a/}}
*The transition between the two elements is longer and faster for {{IPA|/ja/}} than {{IPA|/e̯a/}} with the former having a higher F2 onset (greater constriction of the articulators).

Although a phonological parallel exists between {{IPA|/o̯a/}} and {{IPA|/wa/}}, the production and perception of phonetic contrasts between the two is much weaker, likely because of lower lexical load for {{IPA|/wa/}}, which is limited largely to loanwords from [French](/source/French_language), and speakers' difficulty in maintaining contrasts between two back rounded semivowels in comparison to front ones.{{sfnp|Chitoran|2002|p=221}}

==See also==
* [Diphthong](/source/Diphthong)
* [Hiatus (linguistics)](/source/Hiatus_(linguistics))
* [List of phonetics topics](/source/List_of_phonetics_topics)
* [Mater lectionis](/source/Mater_lectionis)
* [Syllabic consonant](/source/Syllabic_consonant)

==References==
{{Reflist|20em}}

==Sources==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book
|last=Ball
|first=Martin J.
|author-link=Martin J. Ball
|chapter=1: What Are Approximants?
|title=The Phonetics and Phonology of Approximants
|pp=1-6
|publisher=University of Toronto Press
|year=2026
|place=Toronto, Buffalo, London
|isbn=9781487528867
|url=https://utppublishing.com/doi/10.3138/9781487528867
|chapter-url=https://utppublishing.com/doi/10.3138/9781487528867.fm3
|series=Studies in Phonetics and Phonology
}}
* {{cite book
|last1=Catford
|first1=J. C.
|author-link=J. C. Catford
|title=Fundamental Problems in Phonetics
|url=https://archive.org/details/fundamentalprobl0000catf_t1d4
|year=1982
|orig-year=1977
|publisher=Indiana University Press
|isbn=0-85224-437-1
}}
* {{Citation
|last=Chitoran
|first=Ioana
|year=2002
|title=A perception-production study of Romanian diphthongs and glide-vowel sequences
|journal=Journal of the International Phonetic Association
|volume=32
|issue=2
|pages=203–222
|doi=10.1017/S0025100302001044
|url=http://www.clillac-arp.univ-paris-diderot.fr/_media/user/ioana_chitoran/pdf/chitoran_jipa02.pdf
|citeseerx=10.1.1.116.1413
|s2cid=10104718
}} {{open access}}
* {{Citation
|last=Crystal
|first=David
|year=2008
|title=A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics
|edition=6th
|publisher=Blackwell
|isbn=978-1-4051-5297-6
}}
* {{Citation
|last=[Cohen](/source/%3Anl%3AAntonie_Cohen)
|first=Antonie
|title=The phonemes of English: a phonemic study of the vowels and consonants of standard English
|edition=third
|publisher=Springer
|year=1971
|isbn=978-90-247-0639-6
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0x-9bpGEPbAC
}}
* {{SOWL}}
* {{Citation
|last=Martínez Celdrán
|first=Eugenio
|year=2004
|title=Problems in the Classification of Approximants
|journal=Journal of the International Phonetic Association
|volume=34
|issue=2
|pages=201–210
|doi=10.1017/S0025100304001732
|s2cid=144568679
|url=http://www.ub.edu/labfon/Approximants-2.pdf
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100711150125/http://www.ub.edu/labfon/Approximants-2.pdf
|archive-date=2010-07-11
|access-date=2015-02-14
}}
* {{Citation
|last=Esling
|first=John H.
|author-link=John Esling
|year=2010
|chapter=Phonetic Notation
|editor1-last=Hardcastle
|editor1-first=William J.
|editor2-last=Laver
|editor2-first=John
|editor3-last=Gibbon
|editor3-first=Fiona E.
|title=The Handbook of Phonetic Sciences
|edition=2nd
|pages=678–702
|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell
|doi=10.1002/9781444317251.ch18
|isbn=978-1-4051-4590-9
}}
* {{Citation
|last=Esling
|first=John H.
|year=2005
|title=There Are No Back Vowels: The Larygeal Articulator Model
|journal=[Canadian Journal of Linguistics](/source/Canadian_Journal_of_Linguistics)
|volume=50
|issue=1–4
|pages=13–44
|doi=10.1017/S0008413100003650
}}
* {{Citation
|last=Meyer
|first=Paul Georg
|title=Synchronic English Linguistics: An Introduction
|edition=third
|location=Tübingen
|publisher=Gunter Narr Verlag
|year=2005
|isbn=978-3-8233-6191-6
|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=I2hXL8WClNUC
}}
{{Refend}}

==Further reading==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Citation
|last1=Ohala
|first1=John
|last2=Lorentz
|first2=James
|editor1-last=Whistler
|editor1-first=Kenneth
|editor2-last=Chiarelloet
|editor2-first=Chris
|editor3-last=van Vahn
|editor3-first=Robert Jr.
|chapter=The story of [w]: An exercise in the phonetic explanation for sound patterns
|title=Proceedings of the 3rd Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society
|place=Berkeley
|publisher=Berkeley Linguistic Society
|pages=577–599
}}
{{Refend}}
{{Articulation navbox}}
Category:Manner of articulation
Category:Vowels
Category:Approximant consonants

[fi:Puolivokaali](/source/fi%3APuolivokaali)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Semivowel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semivowel) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semivowel?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.