Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.Join Britannica's Publishing Partner Program and our community of experts to gain a global audience for your work!
Liquid, in phonetics, a consonant sound in which the tongue produces a partial closure in the mouth, resulting in a resonant, vowel-like consonant, such as English l and r. Liquids may be either syllabic or nonsyllabic; i.e., they may sometimes, like vowels, act as the sound carrier in a syllable. The r in “father” or Czech krk “neck” and the l in “rattle” are syllabic; the r in “rim” and the l in “lock” are nonsyllabic.
Learn More in these related Britannica articles:
SonorantSonorant, in phonetics, any of the nasal, liquid, and glide consonants that are marked by a continuing resonant sound. Sonorants have more acoustic energy than other consonants. In English the sonorants are y, w, l, r, m, n, and ng. See also nasal;…
ConsonantConsonant, any speech sound, such as that represented by t, g, f, or z, that is characterized by an articulation with a closure or narrowing of the vocal tract such that a complete or partial blockage of the flow of air is produced. Consonants are usually classified according to place of…
SpeechSpeech, human communication through spoken language. Although many animals possess voices of various types and inflectional capabilities, humans have learned to modulate their voices by articulating the laryngeal tones into audible oral speech. Human speech is served by a bellows-like respiratory…