Voiceless retroflex lateral flap

The voiceless retroflex lateral flap is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages (as in Wahgi).[1] The implicit symbol for this sound in the International Phonetic Alphabet is 𝼈̊.[2]

Voiceless retroflex lateral flap
𝼈̊

Features edit

Features of the voiceless retroflex lateral flap:

  • Its manner of articulation is tap or flap, which means it is produced with a single contraction of the muscles so that one articulator (usually the tongue) is thrown against another.
  • Its place of articulation is retroflex, which prototypically means it is articulated subapical (with the tip of the tongue curled up), but more generally, it means that it is postalveolar without being palatalized. That is, besides the prototypical subapical articulation, the tongue can be apical (pointed) or, in some fricatives, laminal (flat).
  • Its phonation is voiceless, which means it is produced without vibrations of the vocal cords. In some languages the vocal cords are actively separated, so it is always voiceless; in others the cords are lax, so that it may take on the voicing of adjacent sounds.
  • It is an oral consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth only.
  • It is a lateral consonant, which means it is produced by directing the airstream over the sides of the tongue, rather than down the middle.
  • The airstream mechanism is pulmonic, which means it is articulated by pushing air solely with the intercostal muscles and abdominal muscles, as in most sounds.

Occurrence edit

Language Word IPA Meaning Notes
Wahgi[1] [example needed] Allophone of [ɺ̥].

References edit

  1. ^ a b Phillips, Donald J. (1976). Wahgi phonology and morphology. Canberra: Dept. of Linguistics, Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University. p. 50. ISBN 0-85883-141-4. OCLC 2964990.
  2. ^ Kirk Miller & Michael Ashby, L2/20-252R Unicode request for IPA modifier-letters (a), pulmonic