[l]→[ɾ]Certainty: 5/5Commonality: 4/5

Liquid Interchange Koreanic Indo-European Japonic Italic

Alveolar lateral approximant to Voiced alveolar flap

The transformation from a lateral approximant to an alveolar flap is a common liquid interchange process involving the loss of lateral airflow, often occurring as an allophonic variation or as a result of liquid dissimilation.

Phonetic Effects

Rhoticization, Loss of Laterality, Lenition

Language Examples

Korean Koreanic

l→ɾ— Intervocalically, the single liquid phoneme is realized as an alveolar flap.

Latin Italic

-alis→-aris— Dissimilation where the lateral suffix becomes rhotic when the root contains another lateral (e.g., solaris).

Japanese Japonic

l [in loans]→ɾ— Foreign laterals are mapped to the native alveolar liquid, which is primarily a flap.

Related Transformations

Rhoticization Lambdacism

More Indo-European Shifts

[d] → [dʑ] — Palatalization [e] → [o] — Backing [ei] → [e] — Monophthongization [∅] → [ã] — Compensatory Nasalization [∅] → [ẽ] — Compensatory Nasalization

Sources & References

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