Voiced labial–velar plosive

A voiced labial–velar plosive is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. It is a [ɡ] and [b] pronounced simultaneously and is considered a double articulation. To make this sound, one can say go but with the lips closed as if one were saying Bo; the lips are to be released at the same time as or a fraction of a second after the g of go is pronounced. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨ɡ͡b⟩. Its voiceless counterpart is voiceless labial–velar plosive, [k͡p].

Voiced labial–velar plosive
ɡ͡b
IPA number	110 (102)
Audio sample
source · help
Encoding
Entity (decimal)	`ɡ͡b`
Unicode (hex)	U+0261 U+0361 U+0062

A voiced labial–velar plosive is commonly found in Niger-Congo languages, e.g. in Igbo (Volta-Congo) in the name [iɡ͡boː] itself; or in Bété (Atlantic-Congo), e.g. in the surname of Laurent Gbagbo [ɡ͡baɡ͡bo], former president of Ivory Coast.

Features

Features of a voiced labial–velar stop:

Its manner of articulation is occlusive, which means it is produced by obstructing airflow in the vocal tract. Since the consonant is also oral, with no nasal outlet, the airflow is blocked entirely, and the consonant is a plosive.
Its place of articulation is labial–velar, which means it is simultaneously articulated with the lips and with the back part of the tongue (the dorsum) against the soft palate (the velum). The dorsal closure is made and released slightly before the labial closure, but they overlap for most of their duration.
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.
It is a median consonant, which means it is produced by directing the airstream down the midline of the tongue, rather than to the sides.
Its airstream mechanism is pulmonic, which means it is articulated by pushing air only with the intercostal muscles and abdominal muscles, as in most sounds.

Varieties

ɡ͡b	Plain
ɡ͡bʷ	Labialized
ᵑ͡ᵐɡ͡b	Prenasalized
ᵑ͡ᵐɡ͡bʷ	Prenasalized and labialized

Occurrence

Plain variant

Language	Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Ega	[ɡ͡bá]		'finish'
Ewe	Èʋegbe	[èβeɡ͡be]	'Ewe language'
Igbo	Igbo	[iɡ͡boː]	'Igbo'
Kalabari	ágbá	[áɡ͡bá]	'paint'
Kissi	gbɛŋgbo	[ɡ͡bɛŋɡ͡bɔ]	'stool'
Mono (Ubangian)	gba	[ɡ͡ba]	'moisten'
Mundang	gbajole / ࢥَجٝلٜ	[ɡ͡baɟole]	'to help'
Nen	ḡéb	[ɡ͡bɪb]	'shadow; shade'	The language has [ɡ͡b ᵑ͡ᵐɡ͡b k͡p].
Nigerian Pidgin	gbedu	[ɡ͡bɛdu]	'beats' (of music)	Phonemic. Found in substrate words and later loanwords from native Nigerian languages. See Languages of Nigeria.
Tarok	igban	[iɡ͡ban]	'traditional wooden tool'
Temne	kʌgbara	[kʌɡ͡bara]	'coconut'
Tyap	a̠mgba̠m	[əmɡ͡bəm]	'all'
Yoruba	gbogbo	[ɡ͡boɡ͡bo]	'all'

Other variants

Language	Word	IPA	Meaning	Notes
Nen	dénḡ	[dɪᵑ͡ᵐɡ͡b]	'old-style bamboo pipe or container'	The language has [ɡ͡b ᵑ͡ᵐɡ͡b k͡p].
Volow	nleq̄evēn	[n.lɛᵑᵐɡ͡bʷɛβɪn]	'woman'	with labiovelar release

Notes

Catford & Esling 2006, p. 438:
… the commonest double articulations consist of the simultaneous articulation of stops at two locations, most frequently labial-velar [kp] [gb], written [k͡p] [ɡ͡b] when the coarticulation has to be made explicit in transcription. This particular type of double articulation is often called ‘labiovelar,’ a term which must be avoided in a strictly systematic phonetic taxonomy in which the first half of such a compound term refers to the lower articulator.
Connell, Ahoua & Gibbon (2002:100)
Harry (2003:113)
Olson (2004:233); association with Niger-Congo uncertain.
Priest, Lorna A.; Hosken, Martin (12 August 2010). Proposal to add Arabic script characters for African and Asian languages (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 October 2023.
Evans, Nicholas; Miller, Julia Colleen (2016). "Nen". Journal of the International Phonetic Association. 46 (3). doi:10.1017/S0025100315000365. ISSN 1475-3502..
Faraclas (1996), pp. 248–249.
Onah, Patrick El-Kanemi; Israel, T. Gamypal (Dec 2022). "A Phonological Description of Tarok" (PDF). Journal of English and Communication in Africa. 5 (3&4): 1–24. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 January 2025. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
Ladefoged (1964)
François (2005:445)

[1] Catford & Esling 2006, p. 438:
… the commonest double articulations consist of the simultaneous articulation of stops at two locations, most frequently labial-velar [kp] [gb], written [k͡p] [ɡ͡b] when the coarticulation has to be made explicit in transcription. This particular type of double articulation is often called ‘labiovelar,’ a term which must be avoided in a strictly systematic phonetic taxonomy in which the first half of such a compound term refers to the lower articulator.

[2] Connell, Ahoua & Gibbon (2002:100)

[3] Harry (2003:113)

[4] Olson (2004:233); association with Niger-Congo uncertain.

[unicode-5] Priest, Lorna A.; Hosken, Martin (12 August 2010). Proposal to add Arabic script characters for African and Asian languages (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 October 2023.

[Nen-6] Evans, Nicholas; Miller, Julia Colleen (2016). "Nen". Journal of the International Phonetic Association. 46 (3). doi:10.1017/S0025100315000365. ISSN 1475-3502..

[FOOTNOTEFaraclas1996248–249-7] Faraclas (1996), pp. 248–249.

[8] Onah, Patrick El-Kanemi; Israel, T. Gamypal (Dec 2022). "A Phonological Description of Tarok" (PDF). Journal of English and Communication in Africa. 5 (3&4): 1–24. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 January 2025. Retrieved 27 January 2025.

[9] Ladefoged (1964)

[10] François (2005:445)