The sj-sound (Swedish: sj-ljudet [ˈɧêːˌjʉːdɛt]) is a voiceless fricative phoneme found in the sound system of most dialects of Swedish. It has a variety of realisations, whose precise phonetic characterisations are a matter of debate, but which often feature distinct labialization. The sound is represented in Swedish orthography by a number of spellings, the most common of which are ⟨sj⟩ (from which the common Swedish name for the sound is derived), ⟨stj⟩, ⟨skj⟩, and (before front vowels) ⟨sk⟩; if considered in complementary distribution with [ʂ], up to 65 different spellings for the phoneme have been identified in native words and loanwords.[1] The sound should not be confused with the Swedish tj-sound /ɕ/, usually spelled ⟨tj⟩, ⟨kj⟩, or (before front vowels) ⟨k⟩.
The IPA letter for these sounds, ⟨ɧ⟩ (called Hooktop heng in the IPA Handbook),[2] has occasionally been used for other languages, but this is only useful as an abstraction (as indeed it is in Swedish).
Features
The sj-sounds are transcribed ⟨ɧ⟩ in the International Phonetic Alphabet. The International Phonetic Association (IPA) describes [ɧ] as "simultaneous [ʃ] and [x]" (that is, [ʃ͜x]). Other descriptive labels include:
- Voiceless postalveolo-velar fricative, voiceless postalveolar and velar fricative, and voiceless coarticulated velar and palatoalveolar fricative, all of which correspond to [ʃ͜x];
- Voiceless palatal-velar fricative and voiceless dorso-palatal velar fricative, which correspond to [ç͡x].
However, neither of these realizations are attested, and phoneticians doubt that such a realization is possible in "ordinary language," as it is difficult to produce, or even to hear, turbulent (fricative) airflow at two places of articulation simultaneously.[3]
The closest sound found in English, as well as many other languages, is the voiceless postalveolar fricative [ʃ] (Swedish words with the sound often correspond to English words with "sh", such as "shield", "shoot", from earlier Proto-Germanic *sk), although usually the closest audible approximation is the voiceless labialized velar approximant [w̥] found in some English dialects. Regionally, it varies from being more [w̥]-like in the standard speech, to being more [ʃ]-like in northern Sweden and Finland. The tj-sound (which often corresponds to English words with "ch", such as "chicken", "church") remains distinct, varying from more [ʃ]-like (i.e., /ɕ/) in the standard speech to more [tʃ]-like in northern Sweden and Finland.
Phonetic realization in Swedish
The place of articulation of the sj-sound varies over Swedish regions and is not agreed upon. It has been variously found to be the following:
- velar and postalveolar, meaning it is articulated simultaneously with the tongue dorsum (i.e. the back part of the tongue) approximating the velum (i.e. the soft palate, like [x]) and just behind the teeth (like [ʃ]). However, doubly articulated fricatives are very difficult to pronounce or to hear, and many linguists doubt that they exist.[4]
- Lindblad describes one of two common variants of Swedish /ɧ/ as labiodental with simultaneous velarization and protrusion of the upper lip, which would be transcribed as [fˠʷ]. (The English sigh of relief phew! is one approximation, as is the voiceless labial-velar approximant that is used in some varieties of English.) He does not use the symbol ⟨ɧ⟩ for this allophone.
- Lindblad describes the second common variant of Swedish /ɧ/ as velar. The difference between it and the cardinal velar [x] is not clear, but it may have less friction ([x̞]), or be further forward ([x̟]), or both ([x̞᫈]).
- Riad notes that the basic dorsal place of assimilation can be determined by the place of assimilation of a preceding nasal, with en skjorta 'a shirt', for example, being pronounced [ɛŋˈɧʊʈːa]. He notes a labialized allophone [ɧᶠ].[5]
- A number of intermediate possibilities between these extremes.
- Other articulations have been described as well, with no obvious standard emerging.
Consider the following comments by Peter Ladefoged and Ian Maddieson:
Use of the letter ɧ for other languages
Colognian
A sound transcribed with ⟨ɧ⟩ is also reported to occur in the Colognian dialect of Ripuarian in Germany,[6][7] being articulated in positions in words that enveloping Standard German has [ç].
The acoustic difference between /ʃ/ and the Kölsch /ɧ/ is difficult to perceive but the articulation is clearly distinct.[6] A similarity between Swedish /ɧ/ and the Kölsch /ɧ/ has not been established, and comments suggest that the choice of ⟨ɧ⟩ might well have been based upon a misunderstanding.[7] Certainly, the Kölsch /ɧ/ is not doubly articulated and even contrasts with a slightly velarized /ʃ/.
Some phoneticians, such as Georg Sachse of the University of Cologne in his lessons on IPA transcription, suggest that ⟨ɕ⟩ might be a better symbol for the sound.
Himalayan languages
A sound transcribed with ⟨ɧ⟩ is also reported word-initially and word-medially in the Wutun language, where it is described simply as a "velar glide", which would be [ɰ].[8] The symbol has also been used for an allophone of /s~ʃ/ that occurs before /t/ in some accents of the Bahing language of Nepal.[9]
See also
References
- ↑ "Om sje-ljudet och möjliga och omöjliga sätt att stava sje-ljudet". Om Språket (in Swedish). Sveriges Radio. 30 August 2010. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
- ↑ International Phonetic Association (1999). Handbook of the International Phonetic Association: A Guide to the Use of the International Phonetic Alphabet. Cambridge University Press. pp. 167, 178. ISBN 0-52163751-1.
- ↑ Ladefoged & Maddieson 1996, pp. 172, 329–330.
- ↑ Ladefoged & Maddieson 1996.
- ↑ Tomas Riad (2014) The Phonology of Swedish, Oxford University Press, p. 61.
- 1 2 Heike, Georg (1964). "Zur Phonologie der Stadtkölner Mundart". Deutsche Dialektgeographie Band (in German) (57). Marburg.
- 1 2 Bhatt, Christa; Herrwegen, Alice (2005). Das Kölsche Wörterbuch (in German and Kölsch) (2nd ed.). Bachem-Verlag Köln. ISBN 3-7616-1942-1.
- ↑ Sandman, Erika (2016). A Grammar of Wutun (PDF) (Ph.D. thesis). University of Helsinki. hdl:10138/168427. ISBN 978-951-51-2633-7.
- ↑ Lee, Maureen (2011). "Issues in Bahing orthography development". Himalayan Linguistics. 10 (1): 230. doi:10.5070/H910123575.
Sources
- Abercrombie, David (1967). Elements of general phonetics. Chicago: Aldine.
- Garlén, Claes (1988). Svenskans fonologi : [i kontrastiv och typologisk belysning] (in Swedish). Lund: Studentlitteratur [Ny utg.]
- Ladefoged, Peter; Maddieson, Ian (1996). The sounds of the world's languages. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.
- Lindblad, Per (1980). "Svenskans sj- och tj-ljud i ett Allmänfonetisk Perspektiv". Travaux de l'Institut de Linguistique de Lund (in Swedish) (16). Lund: C. W. K. Gleerup.
