接せっ近きん音おん

noun

approximant

A speech sound produced with a narrowing of the vocal tract, but not enough to cause turbulence. In Japanese phonetics, /j/ and /w/ are typical approximants.

• 日本にほん語ごの「や」の子し音いんは接せっ近きん音おんに分ぶん類るいされる。

  The consonant in Japanese 'ya' is classified as an approximant.