Labiodental flap
Non-rhotic flaps are uncommon, but include a labiodental flap in languages of the
Central African Republic and neighboring countries, such as Margi and Kera, as well as in
Zimbabwe. It has also been reported from the
Austronesian language Sika.
When described in the literature, it is often transcribed with an
ad hoc use of the extra-short diacritic, , and occasionally with a symbol used by Joseph Greenberg. In 2005 the International Phonetics Association, responding to Dr.
Encyclopedia
Non-rhotic flaps are uncommon, but include a
labiodental flap in languages of the
Central African Republic and neighboring countries, such as Margi and Kera, as well as in
Zimbabwe. It has also been reported from the
Austronesian language Sika.
When described in the literature, it is often transcribed with an
ad hoc use of the extra-short diacritic, , and occasionally with a symbol
used by Joseph Greenberg. In 2005 the International Phonetics Association, responding to Dr. Kenneth S. Olsen's request for its adoption, voted to include a symbol for this sound, and selected a
v with a right hook:This symbol is a combination of a
v +
. The
Unicode character set has not yet been updated to include the character, so the
Izhitsa symbol can be used in the meanwhile.
The labiodental flap begins with the lower lip inside the upper teeth, and then flipped outward, striking the upper teeth or upper lip or both. The
bilabial flap appears to be an allophone in most if not all languages, so it might be better to speak of a
labial flap. In Sika, the flap is heard in careful pronunciation, but it may also be realized as a voiced labiodental plosive, or , or an affricate. It contrasts with both a bilabial and a labiodental fricative,
| "I stand a pole in the ground" |
| "I buy" |
| "We buy" |
External links
Bibliography
- Olson, Kenneth S.; & Hajek, John. . The phonetic status of the labial flap. Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 29 , 101-114.
