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The International Phonetic Alphabet does not yet include a symbol for the labial
flap. However, it does allow for the representation of a tap or flap by use of a breve
diacritic (IPA 1989: 70). In this paper, we transcribe the bilabial and labiodental flaps as
w and v, respectively, with a breve diacritic: M and L.
The outline of this paper is as follows. In Section D.2, we present the geographic
distribution of the labial flap, including maps which present the three major areas where
the sound is found. In Section D.3, we discuss the genetic distribution of the sound. In
Section D.4, we present generalizations concerning the articulation of the sound. In
Section D.5, we examine in detail evidence that the sound has been incorporated into the
phonological system of five languages. In Section D.6, we set forth a hypothesis
concerning the ultimate source of the sound. In Section D.7, we present each language in
which the sound is found, detailing the articulation of the sound as well as evidence for
its status in the phonological system of the language. Finally, we present our conclusions
in Section D.8.
D.2 Geographic distribution
Figure D.1 maps the languages in which the labial flap is attested. (The language
represented by each code number is listed in Table D.1.) Clearly, there are three distinct
regions in which the sound is found. First, the largest region corresponds roughly to the
savanna of North Central Africa and its immediate surroundings. The savanna is bounded
to the north by the Sahara, to the south by the tropical rain forest, to the west by the
Adamawa plateau, and to the east by the Upper Nile. Languages containing the sound
penetrate to a certain extent into the western and southern borders, but it appears that
these borders have retarded the spread of the sound.
Second, the labial flap is attested sporadically in a few Bantu languages in
southeastern Africa. Here, the sound is only attested in ideophones and does not appear to
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