Velopharyngeal consonant

A velopharyngeal fricative, more commonly known as a velopharyngeal snort, is a sound produced by some people with a cleft palate, whereby turbulent air is forced through a restricted velopharyngeal port into the nasal cavity. The term 'velopharyngeal' indicates "articulation between the upper surface of the velum and the back wall of the naso-pharynx."[1] The symbol for a voiceless velopharyngeal fricative in the extensions to the International Phonetic Alphabet for disordered speech is ⟨ʩ⟩. A voiced velopharyngeal fricative is ⟨ʩ̬⟩.

Velopharyngeal fricatives are frequently accompanied by uvular trill, in which case they may be written ⟨𝼀⟩ () or ⟨ʩ𐞪⟩ (ʩ^ʀ).[2]

A posterior nasal fricative is a type of velopharyngeal fricative in which the soft palate approaches the pharyngeal wall without closing off the velopharyngeal port, allowing frication through the nasal passages. The articulation may be aided by a posterior positioning of the tongue and may involve velar flutter (a snorting sound). The sound is used as a substitute for sibilants (/s, z, ʃ, ʒ/), which cannot be produced with a cleft palate.[3]

Secondary velopharyngeal frication during a consonant is indicated with a double tilde, as in [s͌].