Approximants

Sounds that are made by narrowing the oral cavity but not enough to cause turbulence in the air stream; the airstream is said to be smooth. the beginning sound as lye or rye are approximants.

The narrower point in the airstream is wider in approximants that in fricatives, but is not as wide as it is in vowels.

Approximants are more sonorant. English has three kinds of approximants:

Lateral

Approximants that are made by touching the tongue to the alveolar ridge while allowing the air to pass along one or both sides /l/, as in lack, call, callow.

Central

Approximants that are made by raising the sides of the tongue so that the air flows along the center of the tongue /r/, as in rock, roll, rory.

Glides (semivowels)

Approximants that come in two kinds: palatal and labio-velar.

-Labio-velar are made by rounding the lips and simultaneosusly raising the back of the tongue toward the velum, close to where the vowel sound of ooze is made. Labio -velar glides thus have two places of articulation -they are both labial and velar. The first sound of wet, well and wink is a labio-velar glide, represented phonetically as /w/.

-Palatal glides are made by raising the tongue towards the hard palate, close to where the vowel in eat is made. The first sound is yet, yolk and y´all is a palate glide represented phonetically as /j/.

Lateral        /l/

Central        /r/

Glide           Labio-velar      /w/

                   Palatal              /j/