Flapping


Flapping or tapping, also known as alveolar flapping, intervocalic flapping, or t-voicing, is a phonological process found in many varieties of English, especially North American, Ulster, Australian and New Zealand English, whereby the voiceless alveolar stop consonant phoneme is pronounced as a voiced alveolar flap, a sound produced by briefly tapping the alveolar ridge with the tongue, when placed between vowels. In North American English,, the voiced counterpart of, in such positions is also frequently pronounced as a flap, making pairs of words like latter and ladder sound similar or identical. In similar positions, the combination may be pronounced as a nasalized flap, making winter sound similar or identical to winner.
Flapping of is sometimes perceived as the replacement of with ; for example, the word butter pronounced with flapping may be heard as "budder".
In other dialects of English, such as South African English, Scottish English, some Northern England English, and older varieties of Received Pronunciation, the flap is a variant of .

Terminology and articulation

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. 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, while flapping has traditionally been more widely used. identify four types of sounds produced in the process: alveolar tap, down-flap, up-flap, and postalveolar tap.

Distribution

Flapping of and is a prominent feature of North American English. Some linguists consider it obligatory for most American dialects to flap between a stressed and an unstressed vowel. Flapping of also occurs in Australian, New Zealand and Irish English, and more infrequently or variably in South African English, Cockney, and Received Pronunciation.
The exact conditions for flapping in North American English are unknown, although it is widely understood that it occurs in an alveolar stop, or, when placed between two vowels, provided the second vowel is unstressed. Across word boundaries, however, it can occur between any two vowels, provided the second vowel begins a word. This extends to morphological boundaries within compound words. In addition to vowels, segments that may precede the flap include and occasionally . Flapping after is more common in Canadian English than in American English. Syllabic may also follow the flap. Flapping of before syllabic is observed in Australian English, while and are the only possibilities in North American English.
Morpheme-internally, the vowel following the flap must not only be unstressed but also be a reduced one, so words like botox, retail, and latex are not flapped in spite of the primary stress on the first syllables, while pity, motto, and Keating can be. The second syllables in the former set of words can thus be considered as having secondary stress.
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.
In North American English, the cluster in the same environment as flapped may be realized as a nasal flap. Intervocalic is also often realized as a nasal flap, so words like winter and winner can become homophonous. According to, 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 or and winner with.
Given these intricacies, it is difficult to formulate a phonological rule that accurately predicts flapping. Nevertheless, postulates that it applies to alveolar stops:

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

Exceptions include the preposition/particle to and words derived from it, such as today, tonight, tomorrow, and together, wherein may be flapped when intervocalic. In Australian English, numerals thirteen, fourteen, and eighteen are often flapped despite the second vowel being stressed. In a handful of words such as seventy, ninety, and carpenter, is frequently pronounced as, retaining and voicing, although it may still become in rapid speech.

Homophony

Flapping is a specific type of lenition, specifically intervocalic weakening. It leads to the neutralization of the distinction between and in appropriate environments, a partial merger of the two phonemes, provided that both and are flapped. Some speakers, however, flap only but not. For speakers with the merger, the following utterances sound the same or almost the same:
IPANotes
at 'emAdam-
at 'emadd 'em-
atomAdam-
atomadd 'em-
banterbanner-
batterbadder-
beatingbeading-
bettingbedding-
bitterbidder-
boatingboding-
buttingbudding-
cattycaddy-
centersinnerWith pen–pin merger.
citedsided-
coatingcoding-
cuttlecuddle-
cuttycuddy-
debtordeader-
don't itdoughnutWith weak-vowel merger and toe-tow merger.
futilefeudal-
greatergrader-
heartyhardy-
heatedheededWith meet-meat merger.
hurtingherdingWith fern-fir-fur merger.
inter-inner-
jointingjoining-
kittykiddie-
knottednodded-
ladderlatter-
literleaderWith meet-meat merger.
littleLidl-
mantamanna-
mantamannerIn non-rhotic accents.
mantamanorIn non-rhotic accents.
MartyMardiIn the term Mardi Gras.
mattermadder-
meant itminuteWith pen–pin merger.
metalmedal-
metalmeddle-
mettlemedal-
mettlemeddle-
mintymanyWith pen–pin merger.
mintymini-
mintyMinnie-
neaterkneader-
neuternuder-
otterodder-
paintingpaining-
parityparodyWith weak-vowel merger
pattypaddy-
petalpedal-
petalpeddle-
pettlepedal-
pettlepeddle-
phantomfan 'em-
planterplanner-
pottedpodded-
ratedraidedWith pane-pain merger.
rattleraddle-
rightingriding-
routerruderWith yod-dropping after.
Saturdaysadder day-
satyrseder-
seatingseedingWith meet-meat merger.
sent itsenate-
set itsaid it-
shuttershudder-
sightedsided-
sitedsided-
titletidal-
traitortraderWith pane-pain merger.
Tudortutor-
waiterwaderWith pane-pain merger.
wettingwedding-
winterwinner-
whiterwiderWith wine–whine merger.
writingriding-

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, writing. Vowel duration may also be different, with a longer vowel before than before, due to pre-fortis clipping.