Voiced bilabial trill

Voiced bilabial trill
Voiced bilabial trill
ʙ
IPA number	121
Audio sample
	source · help
Encoding
Entity (decimal)	ʙ
Unicode (hex)	U+0299
X-SAMPA	B\
Braille
Image

A voiced bilabial trill is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents the sound is ⟨ʙ⟩, a small capital letter b.

Features

Features of a voiced bilabial trill:

Its manner of articulation is trill, which means it is produced by directing air over an articulator so that it vibrates.
Its place of articulation is bilabial, which means it is articulated with both lips.
Its phonation is voiced, which means the vocal cords vibrate during the articulation.
It is an oral consonant, which means that air is not allowed to escape through the nose.
Because the sound is not produced with airflow over the tongue, the median–lateral dichotomy does not apply.
Its airstream mechanism is pulmonic, which means it is articulated by pushing air only with the intercostal muscles and abdominal muscles, as in most speech sounds.

Occurrence

Plain

Slowed-down recording of the bilabial trill

A bilabial trill held for 3 seconds, with the recording slowed down.

Problems playing this file? See media help.

Occurrences of [ʙ] in various languages
Language		Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Damin		pr2уuu	[ʙ\ʙjuː]	'branch'	Can either be single pr [ʙ] or doubled pr2 [ʙ\ʙ] depending on the word
Dongo		bbo̍	[ʙō]	'two'	Phonemic. Contrasts with /ʙ̥/.^[1]
Isthmus Zapotec		^{[example needed]}			^[2]
Kilmeri^[3]		ppipe	[ʙipɛ]	'blossom'
Komi-Permyak^[4]		[ʙuɲɡaɡ]		'dung beetle'	Generally paralinguistic. Apart from interjections, [ʙuɲɡaɡ] is the only lexeme this sound is found in.
Kwomtari^[5]		[ʙɨt]		'to hit'
Lizu^[6]^[7]		[tʙ̩˥˧]		'bean'	Syllabic; allophone of /u/ after initial /pʰ, p, b, tʰ, t, d/.^[6]
Medumba^{[citation needed]}		[mʙʉ́]		'dog'
Min Chinese	Lei	牛	[ʙu¹¹]	'ox' or 'cow'	Appearing in elderly accents. A variant of /b/ before /u/. Similar words include "梅" (plum) and "肥" (fat).^[8]
Ngwe	Lebang dialect^{[citation needed]}	[àʙɨ́]		'ash'
Pirahã		kaoáíbogi	[kàò̯áí̯ʙòˈɡì]	'evil spirit'	Allophone of /b/ before /o/
Pumi^[7]		[pʙ̩˥]^[7]		'to dig'	Syllabic; allophone of /ə/ after /pʰ, p, b, tʰ, t, d/.
Sko^[5]		[mbʙul]		'pig'

Prenasalized

Occurrences of [ᵐʙ] in various languages
Language	Word	Meaning	Notes
Ahamb^[9]	[nãᵐʙwas]	'pig'	Phonemic; contrasts between /ᵐʙ/ and /ʙ̥/.
Kele^[10]^[11]	[ᵐʙulim]	'face'	May occur in other languages of the Admiralty Islands.
Kilmeri^[5]	[kəᵐʙul]	'rain'
Titan^[10]^[11]	[ᵐʙutukei]	'wooden plate'
Unua^[12]	[ᵐʙue]	'pig'

Prestopped trills and stops with trill release

These are treated as single segments. For stop–trill consonant clusters, see the § Plain table.

Language	Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Namuyi^[13]	tbĭh	[t͡ʙ̩˨]^[13]	'to slaughter'	[ʙ] is classified as an allophone of /u/ following /p, b, t, d/ in the phonemic analysis of Huáng (1992:673–674), and Yǐn (2016).^[14] Phonemic according to Pavlík (2017), occurring before /u/ or as a syllabic consonant; the trill components may be voiceless [ʙ̥] when preceded by voiceless plosives. No bilabial trills are present in the phonemic analysis of Nishida (2013).
	dbù	[d͡ʙu˥˨]^[13]	'wild'
	pbĭh	[p͡ʙ̩]^[13]	'to deliver'
	Bbuda	[b͡ʙuda]^[13]	surname
Sangtam^[15]	[kʰi˥t̪͡ʙa˧]		'hip joint'	Word-medial realization of phonemic /t̪͡ʙ̥/, contrasts with aspirated /t̪͡ʙ̥ʰ/.^[15]^[16]

Phonology

In many of the languages in which the bilabial trill occurs, it occurs only as part of a prenasalized bilabial stop with trilled release, [mbʙ]. That developed historically from a prenasalized stop before a relatively high back vowel like [mbu]. In such instances, the sounds are usually still limited to the environment of a following [u]. However, the trills in Mangbetu may precede any vowel^[17] and are sometimes preceded by only a nasal.

Notes

↑ Pasch, Helma (1986). Die Mba-Sprachen: Die Nominalklassensysteme und die genetische Gliederung einer Gruppe von Ubangi-Sprachen. Sprache und Geschichte in Afrika (SUGIA) (in German). Vol. Suplement 6. Köln: Rüdiger Köppe. p. 359. ISSN 0720-0986.
↑ Pickett, Velma Bernice (March 1960). "The Grammatical Hierarchy of Isthmus Zapotec". Language. 36 (1-Part2): 9–101. doi:10.2307/522248. ISSN 0097-8507.
↑ Gerstner-Link, Claudia (2018). A Grammar of Kilmeri (PDF). Vol. 654. Boston: De Gruyter, Inc. pp. 34, 86. ISBN 978-1-5015-1537-8. ISSN 1448-8310. LCCN 2018954903. Retrieved 22 May 2026.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
↑ Wichmann, Yrjö; Uotila, T. E. (1942). Syrjänischer Wortschatz nebst Hauptzügen der Formenlehre. Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura.
1 2 3 Foley, William A. (2017). "The Languages of the Sepik-Ramu Basin and Environs". In Palmer, Bill (ed.). The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide. The World of Linguistics. Vol. 4. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 197–432. doi:10.1515/9783110295252-003. ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.
1 2 Chirkova & Chen (2013:78)
1 2 3 Chirkova, Katia (2012). Tang, Chih-Chen Jane (ed.). "The Qiangic Subgroup from an Areal Perspective: A Case Study of Languages of Muli". Languages and Linguistics. 13 (1). Taipei: Academia Sinica: 133–170. Retrieved 22 May 2026.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
↑ 梁源; 陈柏桦 (2003). "雷话b-声母的变异" [Variation of the Initial *b-* in Lei Chinese]. 中国语文 [Studies of the Chinese Language] (in Chinese (China)) (004): 341–348.
↑ Rangelov, Tihomir (2019), The bilabial trills of Ahamb (Vanuatu): acoustic and articulatory properties, University of Waikato
1 2 Ladefoged (2005:165)
1 2 Bowern, Claire (2012). Sivisa Titan. University of Hawai'i Press.
↑ Dimock (2005:19)
1 2 3 4 5 Pavlík (2017)
↑ Pavlík (2017:32)
1 2 Coupe, Alexander (2016), "Prestopped bilabial trills in Sangtam", Proceedings of the 18th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences, Glasgow, 10-14 August 2015.
↑ Coupe, Alexander (2020), "Northern Sangtam phonetics, phonology and word list" (PDF), Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area, 43 (1): 148–189, doi:10.1075/ltba.19014.cou
↑ See, e.g., among the numerous data of Robert G. McKee's "Concerning Meegye and Mangbetu’s bilabial trills," in Advances in Nilo-Saharan Linguistics: Proceedings of the 8th Nilo-Saharan Linguistics Colloquium, University of Hamburg, August 22–25, 2001, Doris L. Payne & Mechthild Reh (eds.), 181–189 (2007, Rüdiger Köppe Verlag, Cologne).

References

Capell, Arthur; Layard, John (1980), Materials in Atchin, Malekula: Grammar, vocabulary and texts (PDF), Pacific Linguistics, Series D, vol. 20, Canberra, ACT: The Australian National University, doi:10.15144/PL-D20, hdl:1885/144536, ISBN 0-85883-231-3
Chirkova, Katia; Chen, Yiya (2013), "Lizu (Illustrations of the IPA)", Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 43 (1): 75–86, doi:10.1017/S0025100312000242
Dimock, Laura (2005), "The Bilabial Trill in Unua" (PDF), Wellington Working Papers in Linguistics, 17: 17–33, ISSN 1170-1978
Crowley, Terry (2006), Lynch, John (ed.), Naman: a vanishing language of Malakula (Vanuatu), Canberra, ACT: Pacific Linguistics, ISBN 0-85883-565-7
Huáng, Bùfán, ed. (1992), 藏緬語族語言詞彙 [Tibeto-Burman language vocabulary] (in Chinese), Beijing: Minzu University Press
Ladefoged, Peter (2005), Vowels and Consonants (Second ed.), Blackwell
Nishida, Fuminobu (2013), "Phonetics and Phonology of Dzolo Dialect of Namuyi", Arutesu Riberaresu / Artes Liberales, 92: 21–54, doi:10.15113/00013130
Pavlík, Štěpán (2017), The Description of Namuzi Language (Ph.D. thesis), Charles University, hdl:20.500.11956/95965
Rangelov, Tihomir; Walworth, Mary; Barbour, Julie (2023), "A multifaceted approach to understanding unexpected sound change: The bilabial trills of Vanuatu's Malekula Island", Diachronica, doi:10.1075/dia.21051.ran, ISSN 0176-4225, retrieved 2023-05-07
Sedláček, Kamil (1967), "The Law of Phonetic Change in Initial Clusters in Common Sino-Tibetan", Monumenta Serica, 26: 6–34, doi:10.1080/02549948.1967.11744953, JSTOR 40725837
Yǐn, Wèibīn (2016), 納木茲語語法標註文本 [Grammar of Namuzi with Annotated Texts] (in Chinese), Beijing: Social Science Literature Press

External links

[Pasch-1] Pasch, Helma (1986). Die Mba-Sprachen: Die Nominalklassensysteme und die genetische Gliederung einer Gruppe von Ubangi-Sprachen. Sprache und Geschichte in Afrika (SUGIA) (in German). Vol. Suplement 6. Köln: Rüdiger Köppe. p. 359. ISSN 0720-0986.

[2] Pickett, Velma Bernice (March 1960). "The Grammatical Hierarchy of Isthmus Zapotec". Language. 36 (1-Part2): 9–101. doi:10.2307/522248. ISSN 0097-8507.

[3] Gerstner-Link, Claudia (2018). A Grammar of Kilmeri (PDF). Vol. 654. Boston: De Gruyter, Inc. pp. 34, 86. ISBN 978-1-5015-1537-8. ISSN 1448-8310. LCCN 2018954903. Retrieved 22 May 2026.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

[4] Wichmann, Yrjö; Uotila, T. E. (1942). Syrjänischer Wortschatz nebst Hauptzügen der Formenlehre. Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura.

[Foley-Sepik-5] 1 2 3 Foley, William A. (2017). "The Languages of the Sepik-Ramu Basin and Environs". In Palmer, Bill (ed.). The Languages and Linguistics of the New Guinea Area: A Comprehensive Guide. The World of Linguistics. Vol. 4. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 197–432. doi:10.1515/9783110295252-003. ISBN 978-3-11-028642-7.

[chir78-6] 1 2 Chirkova & Chen (2013:78)

[Chirkova2012-7] 1 2 3 Chirkova, Katia (2012). Tang, Chih-Chen Jane (ed.). "The Qiangic Subgroup from an Areal Perspective: A Case Study of Languages of Muli". Languages and Linguistics. 13 (1). Taipei: Academia Sinica: 133–170. Retrieved 22 May 2026.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

[8] 梁源; 陈柏桦 (2003). "雷话b-声母的变异" [Variation of the Initial *b-* in Lei Chinese]. 中国语文 [Studies of the Chinese Language] (in Chinese (China)) (004): 341–348.

[ahamb-9] Rangelov, Tihomir (2019), The bilabial trills of Ahamb (Vanuatu): acoustic and articulatory properties, University of Waikato

[Ladefoged_2005_165-10] 1 2 Ladefoged (2005:165)

[Bowern-titan-11] 1 2 Bowern, Claire (2012). Sivisa Titan. University of Hawai'i Press.

[12] Dimock (2005:19)

[palvik-13] 1 2 3 4 5 Pavlík (2017)

[14] Pavlík (2017:32)

[Coupe-15] 1 2 Coupe, Alexander (2016), "Prestopped bilabial trills in Sangtam", Proceedings of the 18th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences, Glasgow, 10-14 August 2015.

[16] Coupe, Alexander (2020), "Northern Sangtam phonetics, phonology and word list" (PDF), Linguistics of the Tibeto-Burman Area, 43 (1): 148–189, doi:10.1075/ltba.19014.cou

[17] See, e.g., among the numerous data of Robert G. McKee's "Concerning Meegye and Mangbetu’s bilabial trills," in Advances in Nilo-Saharan Linguistics: Proceedings of the 8th Nilo-Saharan Linguistics Colloquium, University of Hamburg, August 22–25, 2001, Doris L. Payne & Mechthild Reh (eds.), 181–189 (2007, Rüdiger Köppe Verlag, Cologne).

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]