labiodentiaal

Labiodentiaal, also spelled labiodental, is a place of articulation used in the production of certain consonants in spoken languages. It is defined by contact or near-contact between the lower lip and the upper teeth during articulation. The term is used in phonetics and phonology to classify consonantal sounds by where they are formed in the vocal tract.

Most languages use labiodental fricatives, represented in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [f] ( voiceless) and [v] (voiced). These sounds are common across many languages and can be heard at the beginnings of words or syllables, as in English "fish" and "very." In addition to these fricatives, some languages have a labiodental nasal [ɱ] or a labiodental approximant [ʋ], though these are less widespread and may occur only as phonemes in a limited set of languages or as allophones.

Labiodentals are contrasted with other places of articulation, such as bilabials (involving both lips) and dentals (involving the tongue against the teeth). The inventory of labiodental sounds varies by language, and the sounds can be produced as different manners of articulation (fricative, nasal, approximant, and occasionally other types in rare cases). The presence and phonemic status of labiodentals contribute to a language’s consonant system and interact with voicing, aspiration, and surrounding vowels.

See also: labial consonants, dental consonants, fricatives, IPA symbols.