A lateral flap is a family of consonantal sounds, used in some spoken languages.
There are four attested or claimed lateral flaps in the world's languages:
- The alveolar lateral flap ɺ is quite common.
- A retroflex lateral flap is found in Pashtun and the Iwaidjan languages of Australia.
- A palatal lateral flap ʎ̯ may occur in Iwaidja, but is uncertain.
- A velar lateral flap ʟ̆ occurs allophonically in Melpa and a few other languages of New Guinea.
Read more about Lateral Flap: Features
Famous quotes containing the word flap:
“Let Sporus tremble—‘What? That thing of silk,
Sporus, that mere white curd of ass’s milk?
Satire or sense, alas, can Sporus feel,
Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?’
Yet let me flap this bug with gilded wings,
This painted child of dirt, that stinks and stings;
Whose buzz the witty and the fair annoys,
Yet wit ne’er tastes, and beauty ne’er enjoys:”
—Alexander Pope (1688–1744)