:Labialisation:

Pronunciation ˌleɪbiəlaɪˈzeɪʃn

The name of a secondary articulation where the primary articulation is accompanied by simultaneous lip rounding. Labialisation may be the result of co-articulation, as in English when the lip position of a rounded vowel or [w] is anticipated in the articulation of a preceding consonant, for example the first consonant in the word twin. A second possibility is that labialisation is contrastive for a language. This is most common with back articulations such as velar and uvular.

Labialisation is symbolised with superscript ʷ (U+02B7) following the relevant symbol as in the example below.

Click the icon to hear a plain and a labialised uvular plosive from Kwakiutl, a language spoken in Canada: qeˈsa (coiling) qʷeˈsa (peeling).