Editing Tap and flap consonants (section)

===Alveolar taps and flaps===
{{main|Dental and alveolar taps and flaps}}
[[Spanish language|Spanish]] features a good illustration of an alveolar flap, contrasting it with a [[trill consonant|trill]]: ''pe'''r'''o'' {{IPA|/ˈpeɾo/}} "but" vs. ''pe'''rr'''o'' {{IPA|/ˈpero/}} "dog". Among the [[Germanic languages]], the tap [[allophone]] occurs in American and Australian English and in Northern [[Low German language|Low Saxon]]. In American and Australian English it tends to be an allophone of intervocalic {{IPAslink|t}} and {{IPAslink|d}}, leading to homophonous pairs such as "me'''t'''al" / "me'''d'''al" and "la'''tt'''er" / "la'''dd'''er" – see [[Flapping|tapping]]. In a number of Low Saxon dialects it occurs as an allophone of intervocalic {{IPAslink|d}} or {{IPAslink|t}}; e.g. ''bä'''d'''en'' /beeden/ → {{IPA|[ˈbeːɾn]}} 'to pray', 'to request', ''gah to Be'''dd'''e!'' /gaa tou bede/ → {{IPA|[ˌɡɑːtoʊˈbeɾe]}} 'go to bed!', ''Wa'''t'''er'' {{lang|nds|/vaater/}} → {{IPA|[ˈvɑːɾɜ]}} 'water', ''Va'''dd'''er'' /fater/ → {{IPA|[ˈfaɾɜ]}} 'father'. (In some dialects this has resulted in reanalysis and a shift to {{IPAslink|r}}; thus ''bären'' {{IPA|[ˈbeːrn]}}, ''to Berre'' {{IPA|[toʊˈbere]}}, ''Warer'' {{IPA|[ˈvɑːrɜ]}}, ''Varrer'' {{IPA|[ˈfarɜ]}}.) Occurrence varies; in some Low Saxon dialects it affects both {{IPAslink|t}} and {{IPAslink|d}}, while in others it affects only {{IPAslink|d}}. Other languages with this are [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], [[korean language|Korean]], and [[Austronesian languages]] with {{IPAslink|r}}.

In [[Galician language|Galician]], [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] and [[Sardinian language|Sardinian]], a flap often appears instead of a former {{IPAslink|l}}. This is part of a wider phenomenon called [[Rhotacism (sound change)|rhotacism]].