palatovelar

Palatovelar, also written palato-velar, refers to a category of dorsal consonants whose place of articulation lies between the velar (soft palate) and the palatal (hard palate) regions. In phonological descriptions, palatovelars are described as articulated with the dorsum of the tongue raised toward the palate, producing an intermediate place of articulation between a velar and a palatal, or as velars with strong palatal coarticulation (palatalization). The exact realization varies across languages: some analyses treat palatovelars as a distinct intermediate place, while others describe them as velars that are partly palatalized, or as a sequence of articulations during release.

Historically, the term is most often encountered in discussions of Proto-Indo-European and its descendants, where a dorsal series is described as comprising velars, palatals, and palatovelars (palato-velars). The reflexes of this series in the daughter languages differ: in some branches they merge with velars or palatals, in others they develop into sibilants or affricates, or maintain distinct phonemes. The exact outcomes are a central topic in reconstruction and typology.

In transcription and phonology, palatovelars are not represented by a single dedicated IPA symbol. Researchers typically indicate them as velars with palatal features (velars that are palatalized) or as a separate dorsal class when the data justify it. The term highlights the close articulatory relationship between the palate and velum in certain consonants.