Flapping

The terms flap and tap are often used synonymously, although some authors make a distinction between them. When the distinction is made, a flap involves a rapid backward and forward movement of the tongue tip, while a tap involves an upward and downward movement.[3] Linguists disagree on whether the sound produced in the present process is a flap or a tap, and by extension on whether the process is better called flapping or tapping,[4] while flapping has traditionally been more widely used.[5][6] Derrick & Gick (2011) identify four types of sounds produced in the process: alveolar tap, down-flap, up-flap, and postalveolar tap (found in autumn, Berta, otter, and murder, respectively).[7]

Flapping of /t/ and /d/ is a prominent feature of North American English. Some linguists consider it obligatory for most American dialects to flap /t/ between a stressed and an unstressed vowel.[6][8] Flapping of /t/ also occurs in Australian, New Zealand and (especially Northern) Irish English, and more infrequently or variably in South African English, Cockney, and Received Pronunciation.[9][10][11]

The exact conditions for flapping in North American English are unknown, although it is widely understood that it occurs in an alveolar stop, /t/ or /d/, when placed between two vowels, provided the second vowel is unstressed (as in butter, writing, wedding, loader).[5][12] Across word boundaries, however, it can occur between any two vowels, provided the second vowel begins a word (as in get over [ɡɛɾˈoʊvɚ]).[5][12] This extends to morphological boundaries within compound words (as in whatever [ˌwʌɾˈɛvɚ]).[13] In addition to vowels, segments that may precede the flap include /r/ (as in party)[8][14] and occasionally /l/ (as in faulty).[15][16] Flapping after /l/ is more common in Canadian English than in American English.[17] Syllabic /l/ may also follow the flap (as in bottle).[18] Flapping of /t/ before syllabic /n/ (as in button) is observed in Australian English,[19] while [t] (with nasal release) and [ʔ] (t-glottalization) are the only possibilities in North American English.[20]

Morpheme-internally, the vowel following the flap must not only be unstressed but also be a reduced one (namely /ə/, morpheme-final or prevocalic /i, oʊ/, or /ɪ/ preceding /ŋ/, /k/, etc.[lower-alpha 1]),[22][23] so words like botox, retail, and latex are not flapped in spite of the primary stress on the first syllables,[8] while pity, motto, and Keating can be.[22] The second syllables in the former set of words can thus be considered as having secondary stress.[5]

Word-medial flapping is also prohibited in foot-initial positions. This prevents words such as militaristic, spirantization, and Mediterranean from flapping, despite capitalistic and alphabetization, for example, being flapped. This is known as the Withgott effect.[24][25]

In North American English, the cluster /nt/ (but not /nd/) in the same environment as flapped /t/ may be realized as a nasal flap [ɾ̃]. Intervocalic /n/ is also often realized as a nasal flap, so words like winter and winner can become homophonous.[26] According to Wells (1982), in the United States, Southerners tend to pronounce winter and winner identically, while Northerners, especially those from the east coast, tend to retain the distinction, pronouncing winter with [ɾ̃] or [nt] and winner with [n].[27]

Given these intricacies, it is difficult to formulate a phonological rule that accurately predicts flapping.[6] Nevertheless, Vaux (2000) postulates that it applies to alveolar stops:

• after a sonorant other than l, m, or ŋ, but with restrictions on n;
• before an unstressed vowel within words, or before any vowel across a word boundary;
• when not in foot-initial position.[28]

Exceptions include the preposition/particle to and words derived from it, such as today, tonight, tomorrow, and together, wherein /t/ may be flapped when intervocalic (as in go to sleep [ˌɡoʊɾəˈslip]).[29] In Australian English, numerals thirteen, fourteen, and eighteen are often flapped despite the second vowel being stressed.[30][31] In a handful of words such as seventy, ninety, and carpenter, /nt/ is frequently pronounced as [nd], retaining /n/ and voicing /t/, although it may still become [ɾ̃] in rapid speech.[32][33]

Flapping is a specific type of lenition, specifically intervocalic weakening. It leads to the neutralization of the distinction between /t/ and /d/ in appropriate environments, a partial merger of the two phonemes, provided that both /t/ and /d/ are flapped.[4][34] Some speakers, however, flap only /t/ but not /d/.[35] For speakers with the merger, the following utterances sound the same or almost the same:

In accents characterized by Canadian raising, such words as riding and writing may be flapped yet still distinguished by the quality of the vowel: riding [ˈɹaɪɾɪŋ], writing [ˈɹʌɪɾɪŋ].[36] Vowel duration may also be different, with a longer vowel before /d/ than before /t/, due to pre-fortis clipping.[37]

• Phonological history of English consonants
• Regional accents of English