Voiced bilabial implosive - Definition and Overview

IPA - Unicode	ɓ
IPA - image
X-SAMPA	b_<
Kirshenbaum	b`
Sound sample

The voiced bilabial implosive is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ɓ, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is b_<. Features of this consonant:

• Its manner of articulation is plosive or stop, which means it is produced by obstructing airflow in the vocal tract.
• Its place of articulation is bilabial which means it is articulated with both lips.
• 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 glottalic ingressive, which means it is produced by sucking air into the glottis, rather than pushing it out.