semivowel

Meaning

A speech sound that is phonetically midway between a vowel and a consonant, typically produced with an open vocal tract like a vowel but with a narrowing that causes friction or a glide like a consonant.

Examples

• The sounds /w/ and /j/ (spelled 'y') are considered semivowels in English.
• In linguistics, the classification of certain sounds as semivowels can depend on the specific phonetic context.