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In addition, we provide evidence concerning whether the sound should be
considered a part of the phonological system of the language, following the criteria laid
out in Section D.5.
D.7.1 Chadic languages
The labial flap is attested in thirteen Chadic languages. No evidence for contrast is
given by any of the sources. The sound is found almost exclusively in ideophones, with
most additional items being animal names. Several sources report the sound as being rare,
with the most examples being cited in Bana, where it is attested in six words. It is usually
found in intervocalic position.
Bana [FLI] (Nigeria, Cameroon). Hofmann (1990) reports a labial flap in Bana.
She refers to it as “labiodental”, but she notes that the lower lip may strike the upper
teeth, the upper lip, or both. She attests it in the following ideophones: >(L(F >(L(F >(L(F >(L(F ~ >(L( >(L( >(L( >(L( ‘of
setting off running’, CLAF CLAF CLAF CLAF ‘of falling in the mud’, C(L C(L C(L C(L ‘of letting something fall in the
water’, M(L M(L M(L M(L ‘of swallowing suddenly’, and ML(F ML(F ML(F ML(F ‘on interfering in the affairs of
others’. In addition, she attests it in the noun CLA CLA CLA CLA ‘fishhook’. It occurs only in
intervocalic position. She considers it a marginal phoneme. The language is called
“Bana” in Cameroon and “Fali” in Nigeria.
Daba [DAB] (Cameroon). Tadadjeu & Sadembouo (1979: 24) and Hartell (1993:
62-3, 70) report a labiodental flap in Daba. Tadadjeu & Sadembouo refer to it as a
“vibrante labiodentale 1 bat.” 1 It is attested in the word LL LL LL LL ‘fish’.
Gabri [GAB] (Chad). James Roberts (per. comm.) reports a labial flap in Gabri.
He notes that it is found only in ideophones.
1 Several French sources (e.g. Martinet 1991, Thomas et al. 1976) group trills and taps/flaps in the
category “vibrant”. Thus, a flap is a vibrant with a single closure (“battement”) whereas a trill is a vibrant
with several closures.
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