Lateral Consonants
Sounds · one world map for each value
WALS codes 567 languages for this feature. The most frequent value, “/l/, no obstruent laterals”, covers 388 of them (68%); the least frequent, “No /l/, but lateral obstruents”, covers 8.
That value is most frequent in Australia (100% of the 32 languages coded there) and least frequent in South America (35% of 77).
All 16 Eastern Sudanic languages coded have “/l/, no obstruent laterals”.
Trans-New Guinea is the most divided, its largest group reaching only 10 of 23.
No laterals95 languages · 17%
/l/, no obstruent laterals388 languages · 68%
Laterals, but no /l/, no obstruent lateral29 languages · 5%
/l/ and lateral obstruents47 languages · 8%
No /l/, but lateral obstruents8 languages · 1%
One map per value; each dot is a language WALS codes with that value.
By macro-area
| Value | Africa | Eurasia | Papunesia | Australia | North America | South America |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No laterals | 12 | 4 | 30 | 0 | 12 | 37 |
| /l/, no obstruent laterals | 104 | 126 | 54 | 32 | 45 | 27 |
| Laterals, but no /l/, no obstruent lateral | 4 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| /l/ and lateral obstruents | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 4 |
| No /l/, but lateral obstruents | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| All values | 130 | 146 | 93 | 32 | 89 | 77 |
Inside the largest families
| Family | Coded | Most frequent value | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Niger-Congo | 56 | /l/, no obstruent laterals | 79% |
| Austronesian | 45 | /l/, no obstruent laterals | 76% |
| Indo-European | 31 | /l/, no obstruent laterals | 90% |
| Afro-Asiatic | 29 | /l/, no obstruent laterals | 76% |
| Sino-Tibetan | 26 | /l/, no obstruent laterals | 92% |
| Trans-New Guinea | 23 | No laterals | 43% |
| Austro-Asiatic | 17 | /l/, no obstruent laterals | 94% |
| Altaic | 16 | /l/, no obstruent laterals | 94% |
| Eastern Sudanic | 16 | /l/, no obstruent laterals | 100% |
| Pama-Nyungan | 16 | /l/, no obstruent laterals | 100% |
| Oto-Manguean | 10 | /l/, no obstruent laterals | 100% |
| Tai-Kadai | 9 | /l/, no obstruent laterals | 100% |
| Uralic | 9 | /l/, no obstruent laterals | 100% |
| Uto-Aztecan | 9 | /l/, no obstruent laterals | 56% |
Languages to explore
The most fully coded languages with each value.
- No laterals: Japanese, Maori, Maybrat, Nama, Pirahã, Wari'
- /l/, no obstruent laterals: English, French, Russian, Finnish, Spanish, Turkish
- Laterals, but no /l/, no obstruent lateral: Georgian, Hixkaryana, Warao, Ket, Kewa, Paiwan
- /l/ and lateral obstruents: Greenlandic (West), Slave, Zulu, Awa Pit, Koasati, Hunzib
- No /l/, but lateral obstruents: Chukchi, Kutenai, Kiowa, Tlingit, Tigak, Kabardian