kaashääliku

Kaashääliku is a linguistic term used to describe a consonant that carries a secondary articulatory gesture in addition to its main articulation. The word derives from kaas- “together/with” and häälik “consonant.” In phonetics, kaashäälikud are coarticulated consonants: single consonant segments whose articulation is modified by a secondary feature such as lip rounding, tongue position toward the palate, or constriction at another place of articulation.

Common realizations of kaashäälik include palatalization (a secondary bite toward the palate), labialization (lip rounding), velarization (a secondary retraction or constriction near the velum), and other secondary articulations. In IPA these are often written with diacritics or as combinations such as [tʲ], [kʷ], or [lˠ]. Orthographic representation varies by language; some languages spell them with diacritics or digraphs, while others rely on plain consonants with context-driven pronunciation. Whether a kaashäälik is phonemic or allophonic depends on the language and its phonological rules.

Role in phonology: Kaashäälikud can function as distinct phonemes in a given language or as conditioned allophones of a plain consonant. Their occurrence is typically governed by phonological environments, historical sound changes, or articulatory simplifications. They may affect neighboring vowels through coarticulation and can influence syllable structure and stress patterns in some systems.

Estonian context: In Estonian linguistic literature, kaashääliku concept describes consonants with secondary articulations observed in analyses, but orthography generally marks the basic consonant sound without encoding the secondary gesture. The term is more common in cross-linguistic phonetic discussions than in standard spelling.

See also: häälik, palatalization, labialization, secondary articulation, coarticulation, consonant.