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IPA – number	153
IPA – text	j
IPA – image
Entity	j
X-SAMPA	j
Kirshenbaum	j
Sound sample (help·info)

The palatal approximant is a type of consonantal sound used in many spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is j. The equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is j, or equivalently, i_^, and in the Americanist phonetic notation it is y.

In the writing systems used for most of the languages of Central, Northern and Eastern Europe, the letter j denotes the palatal approximant, as in German Jahr 'year'. in other cases: the letters y, and i are used to denote the palatal approximant

In linguistics, the palatal approximant is sometimes called after the Semitic letter yod, as in the phonological history terms yod-dropping and yod-coalescence.

Features

Features of the palatal approximant:

• Its manner of articulation is approximant, which means it is produced by bringing one articulator close to another but without the vocal tract being narrowed to such an extent that a turbulent airstream is produced.
• Its place of articulation is palatal which means it is articulated with the middle or back part of the tongue raised against the hard palate.
• Its phonation type is voiced, which means the vocal cords are vibrating during the articulation.
• It is an oral consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth.
• It is a central consonant, which means it is produced by allowing the airstream to flow over the middle of the tongue, rather than the sides.
• The airstream mechanism is pulmonic egressive, which means it is articulated by pushing air out of the lungs and through the vocal tract, rather than from the glottis or the mouth.

Occurrence

Language		Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Arabic	Standard	يوم	[jawm]	'day'	See Arabic phonology
Catalan[1]		veiem	[bəˈjɛm]	'we see'	See Catalan phonology
Chechen		ялх/yalx	[jalx]	'six'
Chinese	Cantonese	日/jat9	[jɐt˨ʔ]	'day'	See Standard Cantonese
	Mandarin	一/yī	[ji˥]	'one'	See Standard Mandarin
Corsican		ghjesgia	[ˈjeːʒa]	'church'	Also occurs in the Gallurese dialect
Czech		je	[jɛ]	'is'	See Czech phonology
Danish		jeg	[jɑɪ] , [jɐ]	'I'	See Danish phonology
Dutch		jaar	[jaːr]	'year'	See Dutch phonology
English		you	[juː]	'you'	See English phonology
Esperanto		jaro	[jaro]	'year'	See Esperanto phonology
Finnish		jalka	[ˈjɑlkɑ]	'leg'	See Finnish phonology
French		yeux	[jø]	'eyes'	See French phonology
German		Joch	[jɔx]	'yoke'	See German phonology
Hebrew		ילד	[jeled]	'boy'	See Hebrew phonology
Hungarian		játék	[jaːteːk]	'game'	See Hungarian phonology
Kabardian		йи	[ji]	'game'
Irish		ghreamaigh	[ˈjɾʲamˠə]	'stuck'	See Irish phonology
Italian[2]		ione	[ˈjone]	'ion'	See Italian phonology
Japanese		やった/yatta	[jatːa]	'did'	See Japanese phonology
Korean		야구/yagu	[ˈjaːɡu]	'baseball'	See Korean phonology
Malay		sayang	[sayaŋ]	'love'
Norwegian		jul	[jʉːl]	'Christmas'	See Norwegian phonology
Polish[3]		jutro	[ˈjutrɔ] (help·info)	'tomorrow'	See Polish phonology
Romanian		iar	[jar]	'again'	See Romanian phonology
Russian		я/ya	[ja]	'I'	See Russian phonology
Spanish[4]		viuda	[ˈbjuða]	'widow'	Non-syllabic allophone of /i/. See Spanish phonology
Swedish		jag	[ˈjɑːɡ]	'I'	See Swedish phonology
Turkish		yol	[jol]	'way'	See Turkish phonology
Ubykh		[ajəwʃqʼa]		'you did it'	See Ubykh phonology
Ukrainian		їжак,yizhak	[jiˈʒak]	'hedgehog'	See Ukrainian phonology
Vietnamese		de	[jɛ]	'cinnamon'	See Vietnamese phonology
Zapotec	Tilquiapan[5]	yan	[jaŋ]	'neck'

See also

• Palatal lateral approximant
• List of phonetics topics

References

Bibliography

• Carbonell, Joan F. & Joaquim Llisterri (1992), "Catalan", Journal of the International Phonetic Association 22 (1-2): 53-56
• Jassem, Wiktor (2003), "Polish", Journal of the International Phonetic Association 33 (1): 103-107
• Martínez-Celdrán, Eugenio; Ana Ma. Fernández-Planas & Josefina Carrera-Sabaté (2003), "Castilian Spanish", Journal of the International Phonetic Association 33 (2): 255-259
• Merrill, Elizabeth (2008), "Tilquipan Zapotec", Journal of the International Phonetic Association 38 (1): 107–114  
• Rogers, Derek & Luciana d'Arcangeli (2004), "Italian", Journal of the International Phonetic Association 34 (1): 117-121
• Thelwall, Robin (1990), "Illustrations of the IPA: Arabic", Journal of the International Phonetic Association 20 (2): 37-41