Voiced dental and alveolar lateral flaps

Voiced dental and alveolar lateral flaps are types of consonantal sounds used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) that represents these sounds is ⟨ɺ⟩, which is a combination of the letters for the dental and alveolar lateral approximants.

Characteristics

The voiced dental and alveolar lateral flaps are produced by briefly tapping the tongue against the alveolar ridge or the upper teeth, similar to the way in which the alveolar tap or flap is articulated. However, unlike the alveolar tap, the motion involved in producing the lateral flap is directed toward the side of the mouth rather than directly against the ridge or teeth. This lateral motion gives these flaps their distinctive sound, which is different from both the lateral approximant and the non-lateral tap or flap.

Occurrence

These sounds are relatively rare across languages and may be found in various linguistic environments. They can occur as allophones of other sounds, particularly lateral approximants, in certain phonological contexts, or they may exist as distinct phonemes in a language's inventory.

Dental

The voiced dental lateral flap is articulated with the tongue tapping against the upper teeth. It is less common than the alveolar lateral flap.

Alveolar

The voiced alveolar lateral flap is produced by tapping the tongue against the alveolar ridge. This sound is more widespread than its dental counterpart and can be found in languages such as Japanese, where it is represented by the rōmaji "r" in words like "teri" (てり), which is an allophone of /r/ in certain positions.

Phonetic Description

In terms of phonetic description, the voiced dental and alveolar lateral flaps involve a rapid, lateral movement of the tongue. The tip or blade of the tongue makes a brief contact with the teeth or alveolar ridge, respectively, allowing voiced air to escape laterally around the tongue. This results in a sound that is distinct from both a lateral approximant, where the tongue position is maintained, and a tap or flap, where the contact is not lateral.

See also

• Lateral consonant
• Flap consonant
• International Phonetic Alphabet
• Phonetics