Editing Tap and flap consonants

{{Short description|Consonants produced with a single muscle contraction}}
{{more citations needed|date=August 2019}}
{{IPA notice}}
In [[phonetics]], a '''flap''' or '''tap''' is a type of [[consonant]]al sound, which is [[manner of articulation|produced]] with a single contraction of the muscles so that one articulator (such as the tongue) is thrown against another.

==Contrast with stops and trills==
The main difference between a tap or flap and a [[stop consonant|stop]] is that in a tap/flap there is no buildup of air pressure behind the [[place of articulation]] and consequently no [[release (phonetics)|release]] burst. Otherwise a tap/flap is similar to a brief stop.

Taps and flaps also contrast with [[Trill consonant|trills]], where the airstream causes the articulator to vibrate. Trills may be realized as a single contact, like a tap or flap, but are variable, whereas a tap/flap is limited to a single contact. When a trill is brief and made with a single contact it is sometimes erroneously described as an (allophonic) tap/flap, but a true tap or flap is an active articulation whereas a trill is a passive articulation. That is, for a tap or flap the tongue makes an active gesture to contact the target place of articulation, whereas with a trill the contact is due to the vibration caused by the airstream rather than any active movement.

==Tap vs. flap==
Many [[linguists]] use the terms ''tap'' and ''flap'' interchangeably. [[Peter Ladefoged]] proposed for a while that it might be useful to distinguish between them. However, his usage was inconsistent and contradicted itself even between different editions of the same text.<ref>Ladefoged, P. (1975, 1982, 1993) ''A Course in Phonetics''. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. 1st, 2nd & 3rd editions</ref> One proposed version of the distinction was that a tap strikes its point of contact directly, as a very brief [[stop consonant|stop]], but a flap strikes the point of contact tangentially: "Flaps are most typically made by retracting the tongue tip behind the [[alveolar ridge]] and moving it forward so that it strikes the ridge in passing."

Later, however, he used the term ''flap'' in all cases.<ref>Spajić, Ladefoged & Bhaskararao (1996), 'The Trills of Toda', ''Journal of the International Phonetic Association'', 26:1-21. p. 2</ref> Subsequent work on the labiodental flap has clarified the issue: flaps involve retraction of the active articulator, and a forward-striking movement.<ref>Olson, K. S. & Hajek, J. (2003). [http://www-01.sil.org/acpub/repository/OlsonHajek2003.pdf Crosslinguistic insights on the labial flap], "Linguistic Typology", 7: 157–186.</ref>

For linguists who do not make the proposed distinction above, alveolars are typically called ''taps'', and other [[place of articulation|articulations]] are called ''flaps''.

A few languages have been reported to contrast a tap and a flap (as in the proposed definition cited above) at the same place of articulation. This is the case for Norwegian, in which the alveolar apical tap {{IPA|/ɾ/}} and the post-alveolar/retroflex apical flap {{IPA|/ɽ/}} have the same place of articulation for some speakers,<ref>Moen et al. (2003) [https://www.internationalphoneticassociation.org/icphs-proceedings/ICPhS2003/papers/p15_1755.pdf "The Articulation of the East Norwegian Apical Liquids /ɭ ɾ ɽ/"]</ref>
and [[Kamviri]], which also has apical alveolar taps and flaps.<ref>Richard Strand, [http://nuristan.info/Nuristani/Kamkata/Kom/KomLanguage/Lexicon/phon.html#%C3%A5 The Sound System of kâmvʹiri]</ref>

==IPA symbols==
The tap and flap consonants identified by the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]] are:

{|class=wikitable
|- 
! rowspan="2" | IPA
! rowspan="2" | Description
! colspan="4" | Example
|- 
! Language
! Orthography
! IPA
! Meaning
|-
| style="font-size: 24px; text-align: center;" | {{IPA|ɾ}}
| [[alveolar tap]]
| [[Spanish language|Spanish]]
| pe'''r'''o
| {{IPA|[pe'''ɾ'''o]}}
| "but"
|-
| style="font-size: 24px; text-align: center;" | {{IPA|ɺ}}
| [[alveolar lateral flap]]
| [[Venda language|Venda]]
| vu'''l'''a
| [vu'''ɺ'''a]
| "to open"
|-
| style="font-size: 24px; text-align: center;" | {{IPA|ɽ}}
| [[retroflex flap]]
| [[Warlpiri language|Warlpiri]]
| '''rd'''upa
| {{IPA|['''ɽ'''upa]}}
| "windbreak"
|-
| style="font-size: 24px; text-align: center;" | {{IPA|𝼈}}
| [[retroflex lateral flap]]
| [[Kobon language|Kobon]]
| '''ƚ'''aw'''ƚ'''
| {{IPA|['''𝼈'''aw'''𝼈''']}}
| "to shoot"
|-
| style="font-size: 24px; text-align: center;" | {{IPA|ⱱ}}
| [[labiodental flap]]
| [[Karang language|Karang]]
| '''vb'''ara
|{{IPA|['''ⱱ'''ara]}}
| "animal"
|}

The [[Kiel Convention]] of the IPA recommended that for other taps and flaps, a homorganic consonant, such as a stop or trill, should be used with a breve diacritic:
{{blockquote|Tap or flaps: where no independent symbol for a tap is provided, the breve diacritic should be used, ''e.g.'' {{IPA|[ʀ̆]}} or {{IPA|[n̆]}}.<!-- Is it a direct quote? If so, I'd add quote marks; if not, I'd use another example, because the nasal flap is typically transcribed ɾ̃.--><ref>"Report on the Kiel Convention", ''Journal of the International Phonetic Association'' 19:2, p 70.</ref>}}

However, the former could be mistaken for a short trill, and is more clearly transcribed {{angbr IPA|ɢ̆}}, whereas for a nasal tap the unambiguous transcription {{angbr IPA|ɾ̃}} is generally used.

==Types of taps and flaps==
{|class=wikitable
|+Attested tap and flap consonants<ref>Bickford & Floyd (2006) ''Articulatory Phonetics'', Table 25.1, augmented by sources at the articles on individual consonants.</ref>
|- align=center
! 
! [[Bilabial consonant|Bilabial]]
! [[Labiodental consonant|Labio-<br>dental]]
! [[Linguolabial consonant|Linguo-<br>labial]]
! [[Dental consonant|Dental]]
! [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! [[Postalveolar consonant|Post-<br>alveolar]]
! [[Retroflex consonant|Retroflex]]
! [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! [[Uvular consonant|Uvular]]
! [[Pharyngeal consonant|Epi-<br>glottal]]
|- align=center
! Central oral
| {{IPA|[[ⱱ̟]] (b̆, w̆)}}
| {{IPA|[[ⱱ̥]] (f̆) · [[ⱱ]] (v̆)}}
| {{IPA|[[ɾ̼]]}}
| {{IPA|[[ɾ̪]]}}
| {{IPA|[[ɾ̥]] · [[ɾ]]}}
| {{IPA|[[ɾ̠]]}}
| {{IPA|[[ɽ̊]] · [[Retroflex flap|ɽ]]}}
! rowspan=2 colspan=2 |
| {{IPA|[[ɢ̆]] (ʀ̆)}}
| {{IPA|[[ʡ̮]] (ʢ̮)}}
|- align=center
! Central nasal
| {{IPA|[[ⱱ̟̃]] (m̆)}}
| 
|
| {{IPA|[[ɾ̪̃]]}}
| {{IPA|[[ɾ̃]] (n̆)}}
| 
| {{IPA|[[ɽ̃]] (ɳ̆&thinsp;)}}
|||
|- align=center
! Central fricative
| 
| 
|
| 
| {{IPA|[[ɾ̞̊]] [[ɾ̞]]}}<!--per Laver (1994) p. 263, the diacritic is a ''lowering'' tack, since a tapped fricative is more open than a tapped stop.-->
| 
| 
| 
| 
!rowspan=3|
|
|- align=center
! Lateral oral
!colspan=2 rowspan=2|
|{{IPA link|ɺ͡ɺ̼}}
| {{IPA|[[ɺ̪]]}}
| {{IPA|[[ɺ̥]]<ref>Phillips, Donald (1976) "Wahgi phonology and morphology". ''[[Pacific Linguistics]] B'', issue 36</ref> · [[ɺ]]}}
| {{IPA|[[ɺ̠]]}}
| {{IPA|[[Retroflex lateral flap|𝼈]] (ɭ̆&thinsp;)}}
| {{IPA|[[ʎ̮]]}}
| {{IPA|[[ʟ̆]]}}
| 
|- align=center
! Lateral nasal
|
| 
| {{IPA|[[ɺ̃]]}}
|
|
|
|
| 
|}

Most of the alternative transcriptions in parentheses imply a tap rather than flap articulation, so for example the flap {{IPA|[ⱱ̟]}} and the tapped stop {{IPA|[b̆]}} are arguably distinct, as are flapped {{IPA|[ɽ̃]}} and tapped {{IPA|[ɳ̆]}}.

===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]].

===Retroflex flaps===
Most [[Languages of South Asia|Indic]] and [[Dravidian languages]] have retroflex flaps. In [[Hindi]] there are three, a simple retroflex flap as in {{IPA|[bəɽaː]}} ''big,'' a [[breathy voice|murmured]] retroflex flap as in {{IPA|[koɽʱiː]}} ''leper,'' and a retroflex [[nasalization|nasal]] flap in the Hindicized pronunciation of [[Sanskrit]] {{IPA|[məɽ̃iː]}} ''gem.'' Some of these may be [[allophone|allophonic]].

A retroflex flap is also common in [[Norwegian dialects#Retroflex "R"|Norwegian dialects]] and some [[Swedish dialects]].

===Lateral taps and flaps===
Many of the languages of Africa, Asia, and the Pacific that do not distinguish [r] from [[l]] may have a lateral flap. However, it is also possible that many of these languages do not have a lateral–central contrast at all, so that even a consistently neutral articulation may be perceived as sometimes lateral {{IPA|[ɺ]}} or {{IPA|[l]}}, sometimes central {{IPA|[ɾ]}}. This has been suggested to be the case for [[Japanese language|Japanese]], for example.{{sfnp|Ladefoged|Maddieson|1996|p=243}}

The [[Iwaidja language]] of Australia has both alveolar and [[retroflex lateral flap]]s. These contrast with [[lateral approximant]]s at the same positions, as well as a retroflex tap {{IPA|[ɽ]}}, [[alveolar tap]] {{IPA|[ɾ]}}, and [[retroflex approximant]] {{IPA|[ɻ]}}. However, the flapped, or tapped, laterals in Iwaidja are distinct from 'lateral flaps' as represented by the corresponding IPA symbols (see below). These phones consist of a flap component followed by a lateral component, whereas In Iwaidja the opposite is the case. For this reason, current IPA transcriptions of these sounds by linguists working on the language consist of an alveolar lateral followed by a superscript alveolar tap and a retroflex lateral followed by a superscript retroflex tap.

A [[velar lateral tap]] may exist as an allophone in a few languages of New Guinea, according to [[Peter Ladefoged]] and [[Ian Maddieson]].

A co-articulated alveolar-linguolabial lateral tap or flap {{IPA|/ɺ͡ɺ̼/}} may exist in some varieties of [[Pirahã language|Pirahã]].<ref name="Everett 1986">{{cite book |last=Everett |first=Daniel L. |author-link=Daniel Everett |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110850819/html |title=Handbook of Amazonian Languages |date=July 1, 1986 |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton |isbn=9783110102574 |volume=1 |location=Berlin, Germany |pages=315–317 |chapter=Pirahã |doi=10.1515/9783110850819.200 |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name="Everett 2008">{{cite book |last=Everett |first=Daniel L. |url=https://archive.org/details/dontsleeptherear00ever |title=Don't Sleep, there are Snakes |publisher=Pantheon Books |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-375-42502-8 |pages=178–179 |url-access=registration}}</ref>

===Non-coronal flaps===
The only common non-[[coronal consonant|coronal]] flap is the [[labiodental flap]], found throughout central Africa in languages such as [[Margi language|Margi]]. In 2005, the IPA adopted a right-hook v, {{angbr IPA|ⱱ}}:

:[[Image:Unicode 0x0475.svg|frameless|upright=0.25]]

Previously it had been transcribed with the use of the breve diacritic, {{IPA|[v̆]}}, or other ''ad hoc'' symbols.

Other taps or flaps are much less common. They include an [[epiglottal tap]]; a [[bilabial flap]] in [[Banda languages|Banda]], which may be an [[allophone]] of the labiodental flap; and a [[velar lateral tap]] as an allophone in [[Kanite language|Kanite]] and [[Melpa language|Melpa]]. These are often transcribed with the breve diacritic, as {{IPA|[w̆, ʟ̆]}}. Note here that, like a velar [[trill consonant|trill]], a central velar flap or tap is not possible because the tongue and [[soft palate]] cannot move together easily enough to produce a sound.{{cn|date=January 2024}}

If other flaps are found, the breve diacritic could be used to represent them, but would more properly be combined with the symbol for the corresponding voiced stop. A [[palatal consonant|palatal]] or [[uvular consonant|uvular]] tap or flap, which unlike a velar tap is believed to be articulatorily possible, could be represented this way (by {{IPA|*[ɟ̆, ɢ̆~ʀ̆]}}).<ref>The IPA has recommended {{angbr|ʀ̆}}, but that could be confused with an extra-short (e.g. one-contact) trill. {{angbr|ɢ̆}} is less ambiguous, because articulatorily taps are extra-short stops.</ref>

Though deemed impossible on the IPA chart, a velar tap has been reported to occur allophonically in the [[Kamviri dialect]] of the [[Kamkata-vari language]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/nurestani-languages-archive|title=Nurestâni Languages|author=Strand, Richard F.| year=2010|publisher=Encyclopaedia Iranica, Online Edition|access-date=2015-06-20}}</ref> and in [[Dagaare language|Dàgáárè]], though at least in the latter case this may in fact be a palatal tap.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Akinbo |first1=Samuel |last2=Angsongna |first2=Alexander |last3=Ozburn |first3=Avery |last4=Schellenberg |first4=Murray |last5=Pulleyblank |first5=Douglas |year=2022 |chapter=Dàgáárè (Central) |editor-last1=Sibanda |editor-first1=Galen |editor-last2=Ngonyani |editor-first2=Deo |editor-last3=Choti |editor-first3=Jonathan |editor-last4=Biersteker |editor-first4=Ann |title=Descriptive and theoretical approaches to African linguistics: Selected papers from the 49th Annual Conference on African Linguistics |publisher=Language Science Press |location=Berlin |isbn=978-3-96110-340-9 |pages=1–8 |doi=10.5281/zenodo.6393732 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/6393732}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Angsongna |first1=Alexander |last2=Akinbo |first2=Samuel |year=2022 |title=Dàgáárè (Central) |journal=Journal of the International Phonetic Association |volume=52 |issue=2 |pages=341–367 |doi=10.1017/S0025100320000225|s2cid=243402135 }}</ref>

===Nasal taps and flaps===
[[Nasalized consonant]]s include taps and flaps, although these are rarely phonemic. In conversational (rather than carefully enunciated) speech, American English often features a nasal flap when /n/ or /nt/ are in intervocalic position before an unstressed vowel; for example, "winner" and "winter" become homophones: ['wɪ<sup>(~)</sup>ɾ̃ɚ]. Many West African languages have a nasal flap {{IPA|[ɾ̃]}} (or {{IPA|[n̆]}}) as an allophone of {{IPA|/ɾ/}} before a nasal vowel; [[Pashto language|Pashto]], however, has a phonemic nasal [[retroflex lateral flap]]. As mentioned above, many Indo-Aryan languages also possess a phonemic retroflex [[nasalization|nasal]] flap that contrasts with the [[alveolar nasal stop]]. {{cn|date=December 2021}}

==={{anchor|Fricative}}Tapped fricatives===
Voiced and voiceless tapped alveolar fricatives have been reported from a few languages. Flapped fricatives are possible but do not seem to be used.<ref>Laver (1994) ''Principles of Phonetics'', p. 263.</ref> See [[voiced alveolar tapped fricative]], [[voiceless alveolar tapped fricative]].

==See also==
*[[List of phonetics topics]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*{{SOWL}}

==External links==
*[http://journals.dartmouth.edu/webobjbin/WebObjects/Journals.woa/1/xmlpage/1/article/262?htmlAlways=yes A Crosslinguistic Lexicon of the Labial Flap]

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