W[edit]
⟨wh⟩ is used in English to represent Proto-Germanic /hw/, the continuation of the PIE labiovelar */kʷ/ (which became ⟨qu⟩ in Latin and the Romance languages). Most English question words begin with this digraph, hence the terms wh-word and wh-question. The spelling changed from ⟨hw⟩ to ⟨wh⟩ in Middle English. In most dialects it is now pronounced /w/, but some (especially in Scotland) retain the distinct pronunciation /hw/, realized as a voiceless w sound. In a few words (who, whole, etc.) the pronunciation is /h/. For details, see Pronunciation of English ⟨wh⟩. In the Māori language, ⟨wh⟩ represents /ɸ/ or more commonly /f/, with some regional variations approaching /h/ or /hw/. In the Taranaki region, for some speakers, this represents a glottalized /wʼ/. In Xhosa, it represents /w̤/, a murmured variant of /w/ found in loan words. In Cornish, it represents /ʍ