AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Approximants Are Vowel‑Like Consonants
- Approximants (l, r, w, y) sit between vowels and consonants because the tongue shapes sound without full obstruction.
- Their vowel-like quality causes unusual effects on adjacent vowels and complicates historical analysis.
L Shapes Sound Without Blocking Air
- The l sound narrows the mouth so air flows around the tongue, making it continuous like a vowel.
- Sometimes the tongue doesn't even touch the ridge, explaining variation in pronunciations like solve and tilt.
L And R Are Linguistic 'Liquids'
- Linguists group l and r as 'liquids' because both flow continuously and are shaped by tongue movement.
- John Hart used 'liquids', tracing the term back to Greek and Latin descriptions.