Editing Liquid consonant

{{Short description|Class of speech sounds}}
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In [[linguistics]], a '''liquid consonant''' or simply '''liquid''' is any of a class of [[consonant]]s that consists of [[Rhotic consonant|rhotics]] and [[Voiced consonant|voiced]] [[Lateral consonant|lateral approximants]], which are also sometimes described as "R-like sounds" and "L-like sounds". The word ''liquid'' seems to be a [[calque]] of the Ancient Greek word {{lang|grc|ὑγρός}} ({{Transliteration|grc|hygrós}}; {{translation|moist}}), initially used by grammarian [[Dionysius Thrax]] to describe Greek [[sonorant]]s.

Liquid consonants are more prone to be part of [[consonant cluster]]s and of the [[syllable nucleus]]. Their third [[formant]]s are generally non-predictable based on the first two formants. Another important feature is their complex [[Articulatory phonetics|articulation]], which makes them a hard consonant class to study with precision and the last consonants to be produced by children during their [[phonological development]]. They are also more likely to undergo certain types of [[phonological change]]s such as [[Assimilation (phonology)|assimilation]], [[dissimilation]] and [[Metathesis (linguistics)|metathesis]].

Most languages have at least one liquid in their [[phonemic inventory]]. English has two, {{IPA|/l/}} and {{IPA|/ɹ/}}.

==History and etymology==
The grammarian [[Dionysius Thrax]] used the [[Ancient Greek]] word {{lang|grc|ὑγρός}} ({{Transliteration|grc|hygrós}}, <abbr>transl.</abbr> moist) to describe the [[sonorant]] consonants ({{IPA|[l, r, m, n]}}) of [[classical Greek]]. It is assumed that the term referred to their changing or inconsistent (or "fluid") effect on [[Meter (poetry)|meter]] in classical Greek verse when they occur as the second member of a [[consonant cluster]].<ref name=":9" /> This word was [[calque]]d into [[Latin]] as ''liquidus'' (possibly because of a mistranslation) and this calque has been retained in the Western European phonetic tradition.

== Sonority and syllable structure ==
In the [[sonority hierarchy]], liquids are considered the most sonorous sounds after vowels and glides,<ref>{{Citation |last=Gordon |first=Matthew K. |title=Introduction |date=2016-04-01 |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199669004.003.0001 |work=Phonological Typology |pages=1–16 |access-date=2023-12-28 |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199669004.003.0001|isbn=978-0-19-966900-4 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> with laterals considered to be less sonorous than rhotics.<ref name=":82">{{Cite journal |last=Wiese |first=Richard |date=2011-04-28 |title=The Representation of Rhotics |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9781444335262.wbctp0030 |journal=The Blackwell Companion to Phonology |pages=1–19 |doi=10.1002/9781444335262.wbctp0030|isbn=978-1-4051-8423-6 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> This explains why they are more likely to be part of consonant clusters than other consonants (excluding glides), and to follow [[obstruent]]s in initial [[consonant cluster]]s and precede them in final consonant clusters.<ref name=":5">{{Citation |last=Gordon |first=Matthew K. |title=Syllables |date=2016-04-01 |url=https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199669004.003.0004 |work=Phonological Typology |pages=83–122 |access-date=2023-12-28 |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199669004.003.0004|isbn=978-0-19-966900-4 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Liquids also hold this position in the hierarchy of syllable peaks,<ref name=":5" /> which means that liquids are theoretically more likely to be [[Syllabic consonant|syllabic]] (or, in other words, be part of a [[syllable nucleus]]) than any other consonants,<ref>{{Citation |last=Anderson |first=Catherine |title=3.5 Syllabic Consonants |date=2018-03-15 |url=https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/essentialsoflinguistics/chapter/3-4-syllabic-consonants/ |work=Essentials of Linguistics |access-date=2021-02-02 |publisher=McMaster University |language=en}}</ref> although some studies show that syllabic nasals are overall more favoured.<ref name=":5" /> Thus [[Czech language|Czech]], [[Slovak language|Slovak]] and other Slavic languages allow their liquid consonants {{IPA|/l/}} and {{IPA|/r/}} to be the center of their syllables – as witnessed by the classic [[tonguetwister]] {{Langx|cs|[[strč prst skrz krk|st'''r'''č p'''r'''st sk'''r'''z k'''r'''k]]|label=none}} "push (your) finger through (your) throat." Additionally, Slovak also has long versions of these syllabic consonants, ŕ and ĺ, e.g.: ''kĺb'' [kɫ̩ːp] 'joint', ''vŕba'' [ˈvr̩ːba] 'willow', ''škvŕn'' [ʃkvr̩ːn] '(of) spots'. This is also true for [[General American English]] (see the words ''barr'''el''''' and ''anch'''or''''') and [[Regional accents of English|other English accents]].

Sequences of an [[obstruent]] and a liquid consonant are often ambiguous as far as [[syllabification]] is concerned. In these cases, whether the two consonants are part of the same syllable or not heavily depends on the individual language, and closely related languages can behave differently (such as Icelandic and Faroese).<ref name=":9">{{Cite journal |last1=Mailhammer |first1=Robert |last2=Restle |first2=David |last3=Vennemann |first3=Theo |editor-first1=Patrick |editor-first2=Joseph |editor-last1=Honeybone |editor-last2=Salmons |date=2015-04-07 |title=Preference Laws in Phonological Change |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199232819.013.032 |journal=Oxford Handbooks Online |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199232819.013.032|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In Latin and Ancient Greek, obstruent + liquid consonant clusters (known as ''muta cum liquida'')<ref name=":82" /> supposedly were ambiguous in this sense, and as such were often used to manipulate meter.<ref name=":9" />

== Acoustic and articulatory phonetics ==
[[Acoustic phonetics|Acoustically]], liquids seem to have a third [[formant]] of unexpected value when compared to the first and second formants. This contrasts with non-liquid [[approximant]]s, whose third formant value is expected based on the first two formants.<ref name=":12">{{Cite book |last=Hayes |first=Bruce |title=Introductory Phonology |publisher=Blackwell |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-4443-6013-4 |edition=1st |pages=19 |language=en}}</ref>

In [[articulatory phonetics]], liquids are described as ''controlled [[Articulatory gestures|gestures]],''<ref name=":22">{{Cite journal |last1=Stoel-Gammon |first1=Carol |last2=Ferguson |first2=Charles Albert |last3=Menn |first3=Lise |date=1992 |title=The biology of phonological development |journal=Phonological Development |pages=65–90}}</ref> which are slower and require more precise tongue movement during the "homing phase", when the tongue adjusts towards the place of articulation of the consonant.<ref name=":32">{{Cite journal |last1=MacKenzie |first1=C. L. |last2=Marteniuk |first2=R. G. |last3=Dugas |first3=C. |last4=Liske |first4=D. |last5=Eickmeier |first5=B. |date=November 1987 |title=Three-Dimensional Movement Trajectories in Fitts' Task: Implications for Control |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14640748708401806 |journal=The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology Section A |volume=39 |issue=4 |pages=629–647 |doi=10.1080/14640748708401806 |issn=0272-4987 |s2cid=143471338|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Due to the fact that babies prefer ''ballistic gestures'', which rely on the propelling motion of the jaw, liquids usually occur later in a child's [[phonological development]],<ref name=":42">{{Citation |last1=Rose |first1=Yvan |title=Developmental Phonetics of Speech Production |date=2021-11-30 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/9781108644198.024 |work=The Cambridge Handbook of Phonetics |pages=578–602 |access-date=2023-12-13 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/9781108644198.024 |isbn=978-1-108-64419-8 |s2cid=244070672 |last2=McAllister |first2=Tara |last3=Inkelas |first3=Sharon|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Yeni-Komshian |first1=Grace H. |title=Child phonology |last2=Kavanagh |first2=James F. |last3=Ferguson |first3=Charles Albert |date=1980 |publisher=Academic Press |others=National Institute of Child Health and Human Development U.S. |isbn=978-0-12-770601-6 |series=Perspectives in neurolinguistics, neuropsychology, and psycholinguistics |location=New York}}</ref> and they are more likely to be deleted in consonant clusters before the age of three.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Rose |first1=Yvan |title=Developmental Phonetics of Speech Production |date=2021 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-handbook-of-phonetics/developmental-phonetics-of-speech-production/61743731BEBED5BEE2BF235CFA403054 |work=The Cambridge Handbook of Phonetics |pages=578–602 |editor-last=Setter |editor-first=Jane |access-date=2023-12-29 |series=Cambridge Handbooks in Language and Linguistics |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-49573-8 |last2=McAllister |first2=Tara |last3=Inkelas |first3=Sharon |editor2-last=Knight |editor2-first=Rachael-Anne}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Grunwell |first=Pamela |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2NwlsEAZ9_YC |title=Clinical Phonology |date=1982 |publisher=Aspen Systems Corporation |isbn=978-0-89443-392-4 |language=en}}</ref> Liquids have also been described as consonants involving "complex lingual geometries."<ref name=":62">{{Citation |last1=Drager |first1=Katie |title=Sociophonetics |date=2021 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-handbook-of-phonetics/sociophonetics/4E3C7CC84C775CB67B6076A0FEDFEAB9 |work=The Cambridge Handbook of Phonetics |pages=551–577 |editor-last=Setter |editor-first=Jane |access-date=2023-12-29 |series=Cambridge Handbooks in Language and Linguistics |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-49573-8 |last2=Kettig |first2=Thomas |editor2-last=Knight |editor2-first=Rachael-Anne}}</ref>

To better determine the full range of articulatory and acoustic characteristics of liquids, the use of [[ultrasound]] paired with audio recordings is increasing. This is due to this consonant group being difficult to analyse on a purely auditory base.<ref name=":62" />

== Liquids and phonological change ==
Liquids seem to be more or less subjected to certain sound changes or phonological processes than other consonants. On an auditory level, liquid consonants resemble each other, which is likely the reason they undergo or trigger [[Assimilation (phonology)|assimilation]], [[dissimilation]] and [[Metathesis (linguistics)|metathesis]].<ref name=":102">{{Citation |last=Gordon |first=Matthew K. |title=Phoneme inventories |date=2016-04-01 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199669004.003.0003 |work=Phonological Typology |pages=43–82 |access-date=2023-12-30 |publisher=Oxford University Press|doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199669004.003.0003 |isbn=978-0-19-966900-4 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

===Metathesis===
Cross-linguistically, liquids tend to be more prone to [[Metathesis (linguistics)|metathesis]] than other consonants,<ref name=":72">{{Cite journal |last=Cser |first=András |editor-first1=Patrick |editor-first2=Joseph |editor-last1=Honeybone |editor-last2=Salmons |date=2014-11-03 |title=Basic Types of Phonological Change |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199232819.013.036 |journal=Oxford Handbooks Online |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199232819.013.036|url-access=subscription }}</ref> especially long-distance metathesis.<ref name=":112">{{Citation |last=Gordon |first=Matthew K. |title=Segmental processes |date=2016-04-01 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199669004.003.0005 |work=Phonological Typology |pages=123–174 |access-date=2023-12-30 |publisher=Oxford University Press|doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199669004.003.0005 |isbn=978-0-19-966900-4 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

In Spanish, a frequent example is the behaviour of /r/ and /l/:

* Lat. [[wiktionary:crocodilus#Latin|''c'''r'''ocodīlus'']] > Span. [[wiktionary:cocodrilo#Spanish|''cocod'''r'''ilo'']] “crocodile”
* Lat. [[wiktionary:miraculum#Latin|''mī'''r'''ācu'''l'''um'']] > Span. [[wiktionary:milagro#Spanish|''mi'''l'''ag'''r'''o'']] “miracle”
* Lat. [[wiktionary:periculum#Latin|''pe'''r'''īcu'''l'''um'']] > Span. [[wiktionary:peligro#Spanish|''pe'''l'''ig'''r'''o'']] “danger”
* Lat. [[wiktionary:parabola#Latin|''pa'''r'''abo'''l'''a'']] > Span. [[wiktionary:palabra#Spanish|''pa'''l'''ab'''r'''a'']] “speech”

In English, [[wiktionary:comfortable|''comfortable'']] is frequently pronounced /ˈkʌmf.tɚ.bəl/ in rhotic varieties, even though its stem, [[wiktionary:comfort|''comfort'']], is pronounced /ˈkʌm.fɚt/, with the rhotic /ɹ/ in its original position.

=== Assimilation ===
Liquid consonants can also undergo [[Assimilation (phonology)|assimilation]]: compare [[Italian language|Italian]] ''pa'''rl'''are'' "to speak" with [[Sicilian language|Sicilian]] ''pa'''rr'''ari''. This phenomenon, which is not so common worldwide, is attested in [[Finnish language|Finnish]]: e.g., the [[Root (linguistics)|root]] ''tul-'' "to come" combined with the [[Participle|past participle]] suffix -''nut'', [[Sandhi|yields]] the surface form ''tu'''ll'''ut''. This is one of the reasons [[Long consonant|long liquids]] are common in Finnish.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bybee |first=Joan |editor-first1=Patrick |editor-first2=Joseph |editor-last1=Honeybone |editor-last2=Salmons |date=2015-04-07 |title=Articulatory Processing and Frequency of Use in Sound Change |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199232819.013.016 |journal=Oxford Handbooks Online |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199232819.013.016|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

A specific form of liquid assimilation, liquid [[Consonant harmony|harmony]], is present is some languages. In Sundanese, some morphemes have two different realisations depending on what liquid is present in the root.<ref name=":112" />

===Dissimilation===
Liquids are also prone to [[dissimilation]] when they occur in sequence.<ref name=":72" /> For example, [[Old Italian]] ''co'''l'''onne'''ll'''o'' "colonel" is borrowed into [[Middle French]] as ''co'''r'''onne'''l''''', which is in turned loaned into English as ''[[wiktionary:colonel|colonel]]'', with an orthography inspired by Italian but with the /ˈkɚnəl/ or /ˈkɜːnel/ pronunciation with the rhotic ''r'', which is absent in writing.

=== Epenthesis ===
[[Epenthesis]], or the addition of sounds, is common in environments where liquids are present, especially [[consonant cluster]]s. The epenthetic sound can be a vowel or a consonant.<ref name=":72" /> For example, the genitive of the [[Ancient Greek]] noun <span lang="grc" dir="ltr">ἀνήρ</span> ''anḗr'' "man" is <span lang="grc" dir="ltr">ἀν'''δ'''ρός</span> ''an'''d'''rós'', with the insertion of a [d] sound between a [[nasal consonant]] and the liquid [r]. Another example is the [[Irish language|Irish]] word ''<span lang="ga" dir="ltr">bolg</span>'' "belly", usually pronounced with an epenthetic [[Mid central vowel|schwa]] {{IPA|[ə]}} after the liquid {{IPA|[lˠ]}}: {{IPA|[ˈbˠɔlˠəg]|lang=ga}}.

=== Other types of phonological change ===
Liquids can often be the result of [[lenition]],<ref name=":72" /> the change of a consonant towards characteristics that are typical of vowels, making it "weaker". They are also likely to become [[vowel]]s or [[Glide consonant|glides]], a process known as vocalisation.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Morén-Duolljá |first=Bruce |date=2011-04-28 |title=Vowel Place |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9781444335262.wbctp0019 |journal=The Blackwell Companion to Phonology |pages=1–25 |doi=10.1002/9781444335262.wbctp0019|isbn=978-1-4051-8423-6 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> See, for example, the pronunciation of Spanish {{IPA|/ɾ/}} as {{IPA|[j]}} in the [[Cibao]] region of the [[Dominican Republic]] at the end of a syllable: [[standard Spanish]] {{IPA|/muˈxeɾ/}} is optionally pronounced as {{IPA|[muˈxej]}} in [[Cibao|Cibaeño]] Spanish.<ref name=":12" />

==Occurrence and geographical distribution==
According to a survey by linguist [[Ian Maddieson]], most languages have one to three liquids (with systems of two liquids being the most common) and they are usually [[Dental consonant|dental]] or [[Alveolar consonant|alveolar]].<ref name=":102"/> Liquid consonants are also rarely [[Gemination|geminated]] cross-linguistically.<ref name=":102"/>

Many languages, such as [[Japanese language|Japanese]], [[Korean language|Korean]], or [[Polynesian languages]] (see below), have a single liquid [[phoneme]] that has both lateral and rhotic [[allophone]]s.<ref name="lm1822">{{SOWL|182}}</ref>

[[English language|English]] has two liquid phonemes, one lateral, {{IPAslink|l}} and one rhotic, {{IPAslink|ɹ}}, exemplified in the words '''''l'''ed'' and '''''r'''ed''.

Many other European languages have one lateral and one rhotic phoneme. Some, such as [[Greek language|Greek]], [[Italian language|Italian]] and [[Serbo-Croatian language|Serbo-Croatian]], have more than two liquid phonemes. All three languages have the set {{IPA|/l/, /ʎ/, /r/}}, with two laterals and one rhotic. Similarly, the [[Languages of Iberia|Iberian languages]] contrast four liquid phonemes. {{IPA|/l/}}, {{IPA|/ʎ/}}, {{IPA|/ɾ/}}, and a fourth phoneme that is an [[alveolar trill]] in most Iberian languages except for many varieties of [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], where it is a [[Uvular consonant|uvular]] trill or fricative (also, the majority of Spanish speakers lack {{IPA|/ʎ/}} and use the central {{IPA|/ʝ/}} instead). Some European languages, for example [[Russian language|Russian]] and [[Irish language|Irish]], contrast a [[Palatalization (phonetics)|palatalized]] lateral–rhotic pair with an unpalatalized (or [[Velarization|velarized]]) set (e.g. {{IPA|/lʲ/ /rʲ/ /l/ /r/}} in Russian).

Elsewhere in the world, two liquids of the types mentioned above remains the most common attribute of a language's consonant inventory except in North America and Australia. A majority of [[Indigenous languages of the Americas#Northern America|indigenous North American languages]] do not have rhotics at all and there is a wide variety of [[Lateral consonant|lateral sounds]], though most are [[obstruent]] laterals rather than liquids. Most [[Australian Aboriginal languages|indigenous Australian languages]], in contrast, are very rich in liquids, with some having as many as seven distinct liquids. They typically include dental, alveolar, retroflex and palatal laterals, and as many as three rhotics.

On the other side, there are many indigenous languages in the [[Amazon Basin]] and eastern North America, as well as a few in Asia and Africa, with no liquids.

[[Polynesian languages]] typically have only one liquid, which may be either a lateral or a rhotic. Non-Polynesian [[Oceanic languages]] usually have both {{IPA|/l/}} and {{IPA|/r/}}, occasionally more (e.g. [[Araki language|Araki]] has {{IPA|/l/}}, {{IPA|/ɾ/}}, {{IPA|/r/}}) or less (e.g. [[Mwotlap language|Mwotlap]] has only {{IPA|/l/}}). [[Hiw language|Hiw]] is unusual in having a [[Pre-stopped consonant|prestopped]] [[Velar lateral approximant|velar lateral]] {{IPA|/ᶢʟ/}} as its only liquid.<ref>{{citation |last=François |first=Alexandre |title=Phonotactics and the prestopped velar lateral of Hiw: Resolving the ambiguity of a complex segment |url=https://www.academia.edu/848679 |journal=Phonology |volume=27 |issue=3 |pages=393–434 |year=2010a |doi=10.1017/s0952675710000205 |s2cid=62628417}}.</ref>

==See also==
* [[Sonorant]]
* [[List of phonetics topics]]
* [[Perception of English /r/ and /l/ by Japanese speakers]]
* [[Engrish]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

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