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'''Liquid consonants''', or '''liquids''', are [[approximant]] [[consonants]] that are not classified as [[semivowel]]s (glides) because they do not correspond phonetically to specific [[vowel]]s (in the way that, for example, the initial {{IPA|[j]}} in English ''yes'' corresponds to {{IPA|[i]}}). |
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The class of liquids can be divided into [[lateral consonant|lateral liquids]] and [[rhotic consonant|rhotics]]. ''[[Obstruent]] laterals'', which are mainly found in [[indigenous languages of the Americas|indigenous languages]] of [[North America]] and include such sounds as the [[voiceless alveolar lateral fricative]] ({{IPA|[ɬ]}}), the [[voiced alveolar lateral fricative]] ({{IPA|[ɮ]}}, and the [[affricate]]s {{IPA|[tɬ]}}, {{IPA|[tɬʼ]}}, and {{IPA|[dɮ]}}, are sometimes thought of as liquids but do not have their high [[sonority hierarchy|sonority]]. Nor can [[obstruent]] laterals be used in the same way as [[sonorant]] laterals in the languages where they occur. |
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Typical liquids in [[English language|English]] are the sounds {{IPA|/l/}} and {{IPA|/ɹ/}}. In most other European languages the letter r represents an alveolar trill, which is its value in the [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]. In [[French language|French]], [[German language|German]] and [[Danish language|Danish]], the letter r represents a [[uvular trill]] pronounced far back in the throat ({{IPA|[ʁ]}})- this may also be a uvular approximant. |
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Some European languages, such as [[Italian language|Italian]] and [[Serbo-Croatian language|Serbo-Croatian]], have more than two liquid phonemes. These languages typically have the set {{IPA|/l/ /ʎ/ /r/}}, though some (like [[Russian language|Russian]]) have {{IPA|/lʲ/, /ɫ/, /r/}} (Russian also has {{IPA|/rʲ/}}). |
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Elsewhere in the world, two liquids of the types mentioned above remains the most common attribute of a language's consonant inventory, except in North America and [[indigenous Australian languages|Australia]]. In North America, a majority of languages do not have rhotics at all and there is a wide variety of [[lateral consonant|lateral sounds]] - though most are [[obstruent]] laterals rather than liquids. Most indigenous Australian languages are very rich in liquids, with some having as many as seven distinct liquids. These typically include dental, alveolar, retroflex and palatal laterals, and as many as three rhotics. This richness in liquid consonants in a sense compensates for the small vowel inventories and lack of fricatives of Aboriginal languages. |
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Some African languages also contrast two rhotics, usually a trill and a flap. |
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On the other side, there are many indigenous languages with no liquids in the [[Amazon Basin]] and eastern North America, and also a few in Asia and Africa. Polynesian languages typically have only one liquid, which may be either a lateral or a rhotic. |
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==See also== |
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*[[List of phonetics topics]] |
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[[Category:Consonants|Liquid consonant]] |
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[[Category:Phonetics|Liquid consonant]] |
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[[Category:Phonology|Liquid consonant]] |
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[[br:Kensonenn linkus]] |
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[[de:Liquida]] |
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[[eo:Likvido (fonetiko)]] |
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[[fr:Consonne liquide]] |
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[[ko:유음]] |
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[[nl:Liquida]] |
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[[ja:流音]] |
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[[pl:Spółgłoska płynna]] |
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[[pt:Consoante líquida]] |
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[[ro:Consoană lichidă]] |
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[[fi:Likvida]] |
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[[sv:Likvida]] |
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[[zh:流音]] |
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