labiovelar stop

linguistics

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

June 30, 2026

Quick Summary

A labiovelar stop is a consonant sound produced with both the lips and the back of the tongue against the soft palate (velum). This means the articulation involves two places simultaneously: the lips (labial) and the velum (velar).1

In phonetics, stops are consonants characterized by a complete blockage of airflow in the vocal tract, followed by a release. For example, in English, /b/ and /p/ are bilabial stops (using both lips), and /g/ and /k/ are velar stops (using the back of the tongue and the velum). A labiovelar stop, like the sound represented by 'w' in English, combines these articulations. Velarization, a related concept, involves drawing the tongue back towards the velum during consonant production.213

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

5 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

Italic languages
Phonology
The development of the Indo-European labiovelar stop k^w is more complex. (A labiovelar stop is a sound pronounced with simultaneous articulation—movement—of the lips and the velum, the soft palate.) From this sound there has resulted a qu in Latin, p in Osco-Umbrian and South Picene, c in Irish, and p…
Read More
The development of the Indo-European labiovelar stop k^w is more complex. (A labiovelar stop is a sound pronounced with simultaneous articulation—movement—of the lips and the velum, the soft palate.) From this sound there has resulted a qu in Latin, p in Osco-Umbrian and South Picene, c in Irish, and p…
Read More

Latin language
…and perhaps /ŋ/; and a labiovelar series (pronounced with the lips rounded) /k^w g^w/. The /k/ sound was written c, and the /k^w/ and /g^w/ were written qu and gu, respectively.
Read More
…and perhaps /ŋ/; and a labiovelar series (pronounced with the lips rounded) /k^w g^w/. The /k/ sound was written c, and the /k^w/ and /g^w/ were written qu and gu, respectively.
Read More