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Voiced retroflex flap
Voiced retroflex flap
Voiced retroflex flap
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Voiced retroflex flap
ɽ
IPA number125
Audio sample
Encoding
Entity (decimal)ɽ
Unicode (hex)U+027D
X-SAMPAr`
Braille⠲ (braille pattern dots-256)⠗ (braille pattern dots-1235)

A voiced retroflex flap is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨ɽ⟩, a letter r with a tail.

Features

[edit]

Features of a voiced retroflex flap:

Occurrence

[edit]
Language Word IPA Meaning Notes
Bengali[1] গাড়ি [ɡaɽi] 'car' Apical postalveolar.[1] See Bengali phonology
Dutch[2][3] North Brabant[4] riem [ɽim] 'belt' A rare word-initial variant of /r/.[5][6] Realization of /r/ varies considerably among dialects. See Dutch phonology
Northern Netherlands[4][7]
Elfdalian luv [ɽʏːv] 'permission'
Enga yála [jɑɽɑ] 'shame'
Gokana[8] bele [beːɽeː] 'we' Apical postalveolar. Allophone of /l/, medially between vowels within the morpheme, and finally in the morpheme before a following vowel in the same word. It can be a postalveolar trill or simply [l] instead.[8]
Hausa bara [bəɽä] 'servant' Represented in Arabic script with ⟨ر⟩
Hindustani[9] Hindi बड़ा [bəɽäː]ⓘ 'big' Apical postalveolar; contrasts unaspirated and aspirated forms.[9] See Hindustani phonology
Urdu بڑا
Nepali[10] भाड़ा [bʱäɽä] 'rent' Apical postalveolar; postvocalic allophone of /ɖ, ɖʱ/.[11] See Nepali phonology
Norwegian Central dialects[12] Vål[']erenga [ˈvôːɽɛ̝̀ŋɑ̌]ⓘ 'Vålerenga' Allophone of /l/ and /r/. In Urban East Norwegian it often alternates with the alveolar [ɾ], save for a small number of words.[12][13] See Norwegian phonology
Eastern dialects[12][13]
Odia[14] ଗାଡ଼ି [ɡäɽiː] 'car' Apical postalveolar; postvocalic allophone of /ɖ, ɖʱ/.[14]
Okinawan karatii [kaɽatii] 'karate' Intervocalic allophone of /ɾ/.
Parkari Koli ۿُونَواڙ‎ [ɦuːnaʋaːɽ] 'desolate, deserted'
Portuguese Some European speakers[15] falar [fɐˈläɽ] 'to speak' Allophone of /ɾ/. See Portuguese phonology
Brazilian caipira speakers[16][17] madeira [mäˈd̪eɽə] 'wood'
Some sertanejo speakers[18] gargalhar [ɡäɽɡäˈʎäɽ] 'to guffaw'
Punjabi[19] Gurmukhi ਘੋੜਾ [k̠òːɽaː]ⓘ 'horse'
Shahmukhi گھوڑا
Scottish Gaelic Lewis thuirt [hʉɽʈ] 'said' Possible realisation of /rˠ/.
Shipibo[20] roro [ˈɽo̽ɽo̽] 'to break' Apical postalveolar; possible realization of /r/.[20]
Swedish Some dialects[13] flagga [ˈfɽagː˦˥˩ˌa˦˥˩]ⓘ '[a] flag' Allophone of retroflexed /rd/ ([ɖ]) and (single) /l/, the former especially after labials, velars or long vowels.[21]. See Swedish phonology
Tamil நாடு / نَاڊُ‎ [naːɽɯ]ⓘ 'country' Intervocalic and word-medial allophone of /ʈ/. See Tamil phonology
Telugu గోడు [goːɽu]ⓘ 'grief' Allophone of /ɖ/.
Tukano[22] Ye’pâ-Masa petâ-de [pɛ̀ɛ̥̀táɽɛ᷆] '(relative to the) port' Realisation of ⟨d⟩ in certain positions. Nasalised [ɽ͂] in nasal contexts.[22]
Wapishana[23] [pɨɖaɽɨ] 'your father'
Warlpiri jarda [caɽa] 'sleep' Transcribes /ɽ/ as ⟨rd⟩.
Yidiny[24] [gambi:ɽ] 'tablelands'

Voiced retroflex nasal flap

[edit]
Retroflex nasal flap
ɽ̃

Features

[edit]

Features of a retroflex nasal tap or 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 voiced, which means the vocal cords vibrate during the articulation.
  • It is a nasal consonant, which means air is exclusively allowed to escape through the nose for nasal stops; otherwise, in addition to through the mouth.
  • It is a central consonant, which means it is produced by directing the airstream along the center of the tongue, rather than to the sides.
  • Its airstream mechanism is pulmonic, which means it is articulated by pushing air only with the intercostal muscles and abdominal muscles, as in most sounds.

Occurrence

[edit]
Language Word IPA Meaning Notes
Hindi गणेश Gaṇeśa [ɡəɽ̃eːʃ] 'Ganesha' Allophone of /ɳ/ when not in clusters
Ndrumbea[25] /t̠ɽáɽẽ/ [t̠áɽ̃ã́ɻ̃ẽ] 'to run' Allophone of /ɽ/ before a nasal vowel
Kangri[26] न्ह़ौणा [nɔ̌ɽ̃ɑ] 'to bathe'

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]

References

[edit]
[edit]
Revisions and contributorsEdit on WikipediaRead on Wikipedia

Voiced retroflex flap

View on Grokipedia
from Grokipedia
The voiced retroflex flap is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages, represented in the International Phonetic Alphabet by the symbol ⟨ɽ⟩. It is produced by a single rapid flip of the against the retroflex region of the , behind the alveolar ridge, with vocal fold vibration creating the voiced quality. This sound occurs phonemically in approximately 18 languages documented in the UCLA Phonological Segment Inventory Database (UPSID), representing about 3.66% of sampled languages worldwide. It is particularly prominent in Indo-Aryan languages such as Hindi, where it contrasts with the voiced retroflex stop /ɖ/ (e.g., paṛnā [pəɽʱna] "to read" vs. paḍnā [pəɖna] "to fall"), and Bengali, as well as in some Dravidian languages. Outside South Asia, it appears in African languages including Hausa (e.g., shàara [ʃàːɽà] "sweeping"), and in European languages such as certain dialects of Norwegian, where it arises from retroflexion processes and is known as the "thick L" or tjukk l. The flap's acoustic profile features a brief closure and formant transitions characteristic of retroflexion, often distinguishing it from alveolar flaps like /ɾ/.

Articulation and classification

Place and manner of articulation

The voiced retroflex flap is articulated with retroflexion, where the tip or underside of the curls backward to make contact with the or the postalveolar region behind the alveolar ridge. This curling creates a sublingual cavity and greater tongue body retraction compared to non-retroflex sounds. The is that of a flap, involving a brief, single-contact tap where the rapidly strikes and releases from the , resulting in minimal closure duration typically around 20-50 ms. This distinguishes it from trills, which involve multiple vibrations, or from taps with more direct, non-retroflexed contact. Variants of the retroflex flap differ in whether the contact is subapical or apical. In subapical realizations, common in such as Tamil, the underside of the tongue tip contacts a broad area from the alveolar ridge to the postalveolar region, requiring substantial retroflexion. In contrast, apical variants, prevalent in like , involve the tongue tip and its edges touching primarily the alveolar ridge with minimal curling backward. These differences arise from language-specific articulatory gestures, with Tamil flaps showing broader contact and flaps more localized. Compared to alveolar flaps, the retroflex flap requires additional tongue retroflexion and posterior placement, which increases coarticulatory effects on adjacent vowels due to the retracted tongue body and altered oral cavity shape. This retroflexion leads to a more dynamic flapping motion in production, often with the tongue sliding from post-alveolar to alveolar during closure and release.

Voicing and airstream mechanism

The voiced retroflex flap is produced with voiced phonation, in which the vocal folds vibrate during articulation to generate periodic glottal pulses that contribute to the sound's periodicity. The for the voiced retroflex flap is pulmonic egressive, with air expelled from the lungs by the action of the respiratory muscles, including the diaphragm and . Due to the flap's brief duration—typically a single rapid tap of the tongue—the subglottal pressure build-up remains low, facilitating quick release without significant aerodynamic resistance. Airflow in the voiced retroflex flap is strictly central, passing through the midline of the oral cavity around the tongue's brief contact, distinguishing it from lateral variants. In contrast, the voiced retroflex lateral flap [ɺ̢], found in languages such as Pashto, involves airflow directed along the sides of the tongue due to lateral release.

Phonetic features

IPA symbol and notation

The voiced retroflex flap is primarily represented in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) by the symbol ⟨ɽ⟩, officially described as a "voiced retroflex flap" and assigned 125. This symbol, known as Latin small letter r with tail, corresponds to code point U+027D in the IPA Extensions block. It was first introduced in the 1926 IPA chart as a representation for retroflex "rolled" consonants, distinguishing flaps from trills and in languages with such articulations. In digital and software, ⟨ɽ⟩ is rendered with a rightward hook extending from the base of the lowercase r, ensuring clarity in both printed and handwritten forms. While ⟨ɽ⟩ is the standard dedicated symbol, alternative notations have been used historically or in contexts where the primary glyph is unavailable. For instance, a diacritic variant such as ⟨ɾ˞⟩ combines the alveolar flap ⟨ɾ⟩ with the rhotic hook diacritic (U+02DE) to approximate retroflex quality, though this is less precise and not officially recommended for the flap. An uppercase form, small capital ⟨ᴚ⟩ (U+1D1A), occasionally appears in some phonetic analyses for emphasis or in all-caps transcriptions, but it remains rare and non-standard in IPA usage. It is essential to distinguish ⟨ɽ⟩ from the similar retroflex approximant symbol ⟨ɻ⟩ (U+027B), which features a longer, more curved hook and denotes a continuant sound rather than a brief flap; conflating the two can lead to misinterpretation of phonetic categories in transcription. In orthographic systems of languages featuring the sound phonemically or allophonically, the voiced retroflex flap receives specific representations. In Hindi, it is denoted by the Devanagari letter ड़, a modified form of ड (voiced retroflex stop) with a nukta (dot) diacritic below, reflecting its phonemic status in intervocalic positions. In Norwegian Bokmål and Nynorsk, the cluster ⟨rd⟩ often realizes as [ɽ] in Eastern and Urban East Norwegian dialects due to retroflexion rules applying to /r/ + dental clusters, though the single ⟨r⟩ primarily indicates alveolar variants in other contexts. These orthographies highlight the sound's integration into writing systems without always using the IPA symbol directly.

Acoustic and auditory properties

The voiced retroflex flap is characterized by distinct spectral properties arising from the retroflex articulation, particularly the bunching and retraction of the tip, which forms a sublingual cavity and lowers the third (F3). This results in F3 values typically ranging from 1800 Hz to 2700 Hz, depending on the language and context, creating a perceptually "hollow" or retracted quality that contrasts with the higher F3 (often above 3000 Hz) of alveolar flaps like [ɾ]. For instance, in Tamil, retroflex liquids exhibit a smaller F3-F2 difference (e.g., approximately 573 Hz) compared to 1360 Hz for the alveolar lateral , while in , F3 shows a slight falling transition across vowel contexts such as /i/, /a/, and /u/. Additionally, F2 may rise in the transition to the flap, with energy concentrated in lower frequencies (below 2 kHz), contributing to the overall spectral profile. In terms of duration and intensity, the flap features a brief closure phase, averaging around 50 ms in Tamil productions, longer than the alveolar flap (e.g., 17 ms for [ɾ] in the same language) but shorter than many stops. Spectrograms reveal a prominent voice bar during closure, signifying continuous voicing, while the overall intensity is lower than that of retroflex stops due to the minimal obstruction and rapid release, often manifesting as a weak burst. In Hindi and related Indo-Aryan languages, the unaspirated flap /ɽ/ exhibits shorter duration than its aspirated counterpart /ɽʱ/, with similar spectrographic patterns of falling F3 and F4 transitions. Auditorily, the voiced retroflex flap is perceived as a rapid, "d"-like tap with a distinctive retroflex coloring, primarily cued by the lowered F3 transition, which listeners associate with retraction and posteriority. This distinguishes it from the alveolar flap [ɾ], where F3 remains relatively stable or rises; perceptual tests indicate that vowel-consonant (VC) transitions provide stronger cues for retroflex identification than consonant-vowel (CV) ones, with reduced confusion in back vowel contexts like /a/ or /u/. The sound's brevity and lower-pitched quality enhance its tap-like brevity, though it may blend perceptually with alveolar rhotics in medial positions across languages. Cross-linguistically, realizations vary: in , the flap often appears smoother with gradual F3 lowering and no prominent frication, reflecting its role in complementary distribution with the stop [ɖ]; in Tamil, it tends toward a more retracted profile with stronger low-frequency energy and potential subtle frication noise due to the apicopalatal contact, though closure remains flap-dominant. These differences highlight articulatory influences, such as greater tongue tip curling in like Tamil compared to Indo-Aryan ones.

Linguistic distribution

Phonemic occurrences

The voiced retroflex flap serves as a phoneme in a small number of languages worldwide, where it contrasts with other retroflex consonants to distinguish meaning. In Toda, a Dravidian language of southern India, it is phonemic and features variants including a palatalized form /ɽʲ/, as evidenced by minimal pairs such as [oɽ] ‘to cook’ versus [oɽʲ] ‘foot’ and [toɽ] ‘thigh’ versus [toɽʲ] ‘pole’. This contrast is supported by acoustic properties, including vowel retraction in adjacent high front vowels (e.g., /iɽ/ realized as [ɨɽ]), highlighting its role in Toda's large coronal inventory that includes multiple retroflex fricatives. In select , the flap also achieves phonemic status, contributing to diverse rhotic systems amid the region's typological variation in coronal contrasts. Although globally predominantly allophonic—often realizing intervocalic voiced retroflex stops—it is treated as phonemically distinct in the orthographies of like Punjabi (using ੜ in script) and Nepali (using ड़ in ), where it is represented separately from alveolar rhotics and retroflex stops despite partial mergers in spoken forms. In Hausa, it is phonemic, contrasting with the alveolar rhotic /r/ (e.g., rõahaÊa ‘pleasant chatting’ vs. raanii ‘’). The sound frequently evolves from retroflex stops through processes, such as of intervocalic /ɖ/ in including Punjabi, , and Sindhi, where it enters with the stop but retains phonemic independence in certain clusters and final positions (e.g., [lombɽi] ‘’, [kɽ] word-finally). This historical development underscores its stability as a in languages like Toda, independent of such derivations. Phonemic occurrences remain statistically rare, appearing as a distinct segment in 179 languages documented in PHOIBLE 2.0 (2019), representing about 6% of sampled inventories.

Allophonic realizations

The voiced retroflex flap [ɽ] frequently serves as an allophonic realization of the /ɖ/ through intervocalic in , where the stop weakens to a flap between vowels. A similar process occurs in Bengali, where the flap and retroflex stop are often analyzed as allophones, with the flap emerging in intervocalic contexts. In Norwegian urban dialects, the voiced retroflex flap arises as an from the assimilation of /r/ with a following , such as in /ɖ/ clusters, or as a variant of the tapped /r/. Likewise, in Dutch dialects of , the flap represents a variant of /r/, particularly in certain phonetic environments where rhotic articulation retroflexes. The voiced retroflex flap typically appears in medial positions, such as intervocalically, and is generally avoided in consonant clusters; its retroflex quality can be enhanced by a preceding high , which promotes greater tongue tip retraction.

Examples in languages

Indo-Aryan languages

In , the voiced retroflex flap [ɽ] is prominently realized as an of the voiced retroflex stop /ɖ/ in intervocalic positions, particularly in , where it appears in words such as [bəɽaː] 'big', orthographically represented as ड़ (ḍa with nukta). This flap is in with the stop [ɖ], emerging post-vocalically to facilitate smoother articulation, as seen in standard . In Bengali, particularly Eastern dialects, [ɽ] functions as an allophone of /r/ or /d/, realized phonetically in intervocalic contexts like [ɡaɽi] 'cart', though some speakers approximate it as a tap [ɾ] in casual speech. The sound is apical postalveolar and may devoice in coda positions, distinguishing it from alveolar rhotics in formal registers influenced by Kolkata varieties. Punjabi treats [ɽ] as phonemic in some analyses, contrasting with alveolar rhotics and occurring medially or finally, as in [ɡʰoːɽaː] 'horse' or [kʰʊɽə] 'well', represented in Gurmukhi script as ੜ. It arises from lenition of /ɖ/ and is disallowed word-initially in native words, though loanwords like [ɽraːm] 'tram' permit it. Nepali similarly realizes [ɽ] as a postvocalic allophone of /ɖ/ and /ɖʱ/, considered phonemic in certain phonological accounts due to its contrastive role, exemplified by [bʱäɽä] 'rent' (भाड़ा). The flap is apical with lesser retroflexion than in Hindi, often merging with /r/ in intervocalic positions across dialects. Regional variations in Hindi show stronger retroflexion for [ɽ] in rural dialects compared to urban approximations approaching [ɾ], reflecting sociolinguistic influences on articulation.

Germanic and other languages

In Urban East Norwegian, the voiced retroflex flap [ɽ] arises from /rd/ clusters across morpheme boundaries, as in herdet [hæɽət] 'hardened', where the alveolar rhotic assimilates to produce retroflexion. This flap contrasts phonologically with the alveolar tap [ɾ], which appears in non-retroflexing root-internal /rd/ sequences, such as sverd [svæɾd] 'sword', due to constraints on derived environment effects. The realization of [ɽ] is a hallmark of Eastern dialects but carries sociolinguistic stigma in some contexts, often alternating with [ɾ] in careful speech. In the Brabant of Dutch, the voiced retroflex flap [ɽ] serves as a casual-speech variant of /r/ in intervocalic position, as in Brabant [bɽɑbɑnt], reflecting regional rhotic variation influenced by articulatory ease. This emerges in informal settings among southern speakers, blending with but distinguished by retroflex tongue curling. Beyond , the voiced retroflex flap appears in Hausa as one of two phonemic rhotics, contrasting with the apical tap ; for example, shàara [ʃàːɽà] 'sweeping' features [ɽ] intervocalically, while orthography does not distinguish the pair. In , it occurs rarely as an allophonic variant of intervocalic /ɾ/, alternating with the alveolar tap in some dialects, though uvular realizations dominate. Tamil employs the voiced retroflex flap [ɽ] (or [ṛ]) intervocalically as a rhotic continuant, as in paɽa 'read', where it contrasts with alveolar flaps in spoken varieties but often merges with [ḷ] in casual dialects. In modern , the retroflex flap is fading, retained primarily in rural areas from historical /rd/ assimilations but increasingly replaced by alveolar variants in urban speech. Conversely, it remains stable as a phoneme in the Papuan language Enga, where [ɽ] contrasts rhotics in word-medial positions.

References

  1. https://www.internationalphoneticassociation.org/sites/default/files/IPA_Kiel_2015.pdf
  2. https://l1-l2map.it.ntnu.no/l1-l2map/sounds/531/
  3. https://www.jstor.org/stable/42930268
  4. http://web.phonetik.uni-frankfurt.de/S/S0764.html
  5. https://www.lotpublications.nl/Documents/075_fulltext.pdf
  6. https://linguistics.berkeley.edu/phonlab/documents/2012/Bakst_MPhilthesis.pdf
  7. https://ia801006.us.archive.org/6/items/intonation-practice/Handbook_of_the_IPA.pdf
  8. https://www.internationalphoneticassociation.org/content/full-ipa-chart
  9. https://dspace.library.uu.nl/bitstream/1874/627/13/c3.pdf
  10. https://pub.dega-akustik.de/ICA2019/data/articles/000954.pdf
  11. https://pubs.aip.org/asa/jasa/article/97/5_Supplement/3418/744876/An-articulatory-and-perceptual-study-of-Tamil
  12. http://publications.rwth-aachen.de/record/769993/files/769993.pdf
  13. https://uogenglish.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/punjabi-phonemic-inventory.pdf
  14. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-the-international-phonetic-association/article/nepali/A887820E3B1293EFD43FBD3259D41F73
  15. https://scholarworks.iu.edu/dspace/bitstreams/f1d4231b-d713-4134-970c-071c5f8485ed/download
  16. https://phoible.org/parameters/ECADEF8DC1141DC0002DA207736CC234
  17. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272414275_Retroflex_consonant_harmony_An_areal_feature_in_South_Asia
  18. https://www.banglajol.info/index.php/DUJL/article/view/6898/5480
  19. https://munin.uit.no/bitstream/handle/10037/2952/thesis.pdf
  20. https://dspace.library.uu.nl/bitstream/handle/1874/306415/segbregts.pdf
  21. https://www.coli.uni-saarland.de/groups/FK/speech_science/icphs/ICPhS1995/13_ICPhS_1995_Vol_2/p13.2_454.pdf
  22. https://www.reed.edu/linguistics/khan/assets/Khan%202010%20Bengali%20Bangladeshi%20standard.pdf
  23. https://avtans.com/2022/05/10/a-note-on-%25E0%25A4%25A1%25E0%25A4%25BC-r%25CC%25A4-in-indian-languages/
  24. https://www.lotpublications.nl/Documents/379_fulltext.pdf
  25. https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/id/ed798fdf-f8da-4c4a-a68b-cca61071552a/639804.pdf
  26. https://www.glossa-journal.org/article/id/5145/
  27. https://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/public/TamilLiquidsRevisited.pdf
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