Re: Notes on UPSID phoneme inventory

Pablo Floreswrote:
>
>What's the difference between a tap and a flap? I thought
>they were the same!
>
Some linguists do not make a distinction between the two, but others=20
have suggested that there is a difference. According to Ladefoged in=20
_The Sounds of the World's Languages_, the distinction proposed is=20
that a flap is a sound in which a brief contact between the=20
articulators is made by moving the active articulator tangentially=20
to the site of contact, so that it strikes the upper surface of the=20
vocal tract in passing; a tap is a sound in which a brief contact=20
between the articulators is made by moving the active articulator=20
directly towards the roof of the mouth. Both types are usually=20
coronal. Thus flaps are most typically made by retracting the tongue=20
tip behind the alveolar ridge and moving it forward so that it=20
strikes the ridge on passing. Taps are most typically made by a
direct movement of the tongue tip to a contact location in the dental=20
or alveolar region.

-kristian- 8)