noun
contracted sound; open yōon
Linguistics term for a mora that combines a consonant with a palatal glide, such as きゃ (kya), しゅ (shu), or ちょ (cho). Contrasts with 合拗音 (historical labialized sounds like くゎ).
See also: 拗音
「きゃ」「しゅ」「ちょ」などは開拗音と呼ばれる。
Sounds like 'kya', 'shu', and 'cho' are called open yōon.
現代日本語の拗音はほとんどが開拗音である。
Most yōon in modern Japanese are open yōon.
合拗音 refers to historical contracted sounds with a labial element (e.g., くゎ), now largely obsolete. 開拗音 is the contrasting modern type.
Compound of 開 (kai, 'open') + 拗音 (yōon, 'contracted sound'), referring to the open-mouth articulation of these palatalized morae.