Lateral flap

{{Short description|Family of consonant sounds}}A lateral flap is a family of consonantal sounds, used in some spoken languages.

There are four attested or claimed lateral flaps in the world's languages:

• The alveolar lateral flap {{IPA|[ɺ]}} is quite common.
• A retroflex lateral flap {{IPA|[𝼈 ]}} ({{IPA|[ɭ̆ ]}}) is found throughout South Asia, from Pashtun to Oriya, in the Iwaidjan languages of Australia, and sporadically elsewhere.
• A palatal lateral flap {{IPA|[ʎ̆]}} has been described from Iwaidja, but the authors note that it may be a palatalized alveolar flap {{IPA|[ɺʲ]}}.
• A velar lateral flap {{IPA|[ʟ̆]}} occurs allophonically in Melpa and a few other languages of New Guinea.