A lateral flap is a family of
consonant
In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract, except for the h sound, which is pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract. Examples are and pronou ...
al sounds, used in some
spoken language
Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...
s.
There are four attested or claimed lateral flaps in the world's languages:
* The
alveolar lateral flap is quite common.
*A
retroflex lateral flap
The voiced retroflex lateral flap is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The "implicit" symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet is .The substitution may be used when cannot be displayed properly. The two are not c ...
() is found throughout South Asia, from
Pashtun to
Oriya, in the
Iwaidjan languages of Australia, and sporadically elsewhere.
*A
palatal lateral flap has been described from Iwaidja, but the authors note that it may be a palatalized alveolar flap .
*A
velar lateral flap occurs allophonically in
Melpa and a few other languages of New Guinea.
Features
Features of lateral flap:
{{SIA
Lateral consonants