ABSTRACT
Labial-velar obstruents (k͡p, g͡b, ŋ͡m, hereafter generalized as KP) are often characterized as “African sounds.” Labial-velar consonants occur in at least some languages of all of the 10 main subfamilies of Niger-Congo (Bendor-Samuel, 1989), and many of the languages of Nilo-Saharan as well. They are not unique to Africa, since there are several dozen Pacific languages that have them (especially in Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu), a handful in South America, and a very few elsewhere (Cahill, 2017). However, they are more abundant in this continent than elsewhere, and are widely regarded as an African phenomenon.
