出版社：Department of Linguistics, University of Toronto
摘要：The term 'liquid' has become synonymous with 'l' and 'r' sounds in modern phonetics and phonology. This contrasts with its original meaning, which applied only to the lateral and rhotic that may occur as the second member of a cluster. However, even such a narrow definition of the term proves problematic when attempting to group these segments as a class in French and Spanish, as there are a variety of diachronic and synchronic phenomena in which the lateral and rhotic pattern asymmetrically. These include differences in the evolution of clusters involving liquids from Latin to Romance, in the patterning of the liquids with coronals, and in the phonetic realization and second language acquisition of obstruent-liquid clusters. We propose that the lateral behaves as the optimal liquid in both languages, while the rhotic patterns more with fricatives and may be in the process of leaving the phonological class.
