Quantitative analysis of subphonemic flap/tap variation in NAE

Extreme 'covert' categorical subphonemic variation has been thought to occur only in rare cases such as American English 'r ' [1]. The present study demonstrates that English flaps/taps are produced using up to four distinct kinematic variations: up-flaps, down-flaps, alveolar taps and postalveolar taps. Surface distinctions between up-flaps and down-flaps, and between alveolar taps and post-alveolar taps, have not been previously described for any language. Our research expands on preliminary research by Gick [2,3] to include B/M mode ultrasound measures that capture details of flap kinematics with higher temporal resolution.