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D.8 Conclusion
In this paper, we have documented the geographic and genetic distributions of the
labial flap, and have drawn generalizations concerning its articulation and phonological
status. It is most well-attested, both in terms of number of languages and number of items
in each language, in the Mbum-Day branch of Adamawa, and the Banda and Sere-
Ngbaka-Mba branches of Ubangi. In terms of articulatory parameters, the sound is in
most cases a “voiced labiodental flap with egressive lung air.”
The labial flap is definitely or probably a contrastive unit of speech in at least 25
languages. It can be readily incorporated into the phonological system of a language, and
it appears to have arisen independently in two geographically distant parts of the world. It
is our view that the sound should take its place among other speech sounds which are
limited geographically (such as clicks), but which need to be accounted for in the
development of phonetic and phonological theory.
The nearly comprehensive nature of our study aided us in setting forth reasonable
claims concerning the center location of the phenomenon, and a clear hypothesis
concerning its ultimate origin. However, further research will be necessary in order to
strengthen this claim.
We have tried to be as comprehensive as possible in our examination of the labial
flap in order to avoid the pitfalls encountered by Greenberg due to his limited sample.
However, because many of the languages investigated in this paper have not yet been
adequately described, this goal was not entirely realized. We hope that by pinpointing the
key issues surrounding the labial flap, African and Asian linguists will be aided in
carrying out their research on the subject, eventually leading to more complete and
accurate documentation of the phenomenon.
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