What Are Taps in Linguistics?
Linguistics is the study of speech and how people speak. The discipline is filled with ideas and terms that describe things that anyone who speaks a language does normally and doesn't even think about. A tap, for instance, is a complex explanation for what, to most people, is a simple, everyday speech pattern.
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Tap Definition
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According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, a tap is made when one articulator is pressed up against another, such as the loosely-held tip of the tongue pressed up against the alveolar ridge of the upper teeth, or the roof of the mouth. The tongue is then returned to its resting position after the tap is made.
Sound
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A tap is the sound that you make when you pronounce the letter T. It's especially prominent when you have two Ts in one word, such as in the words "better" or "letter." The tongue isn't so much articulating when you speak these words as it is just clacking against your teeth or the roof of your mouth as you're speaking.
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Nervous Tics
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While taps have their purpose in speech patterns, they can also be a problem for people who produce the tap as a nervous tic or for those who stutter over the T sound when speaking. If this is a problem, then constant practice, along with speech therapy, is important for smoothing out this difficulty in speech.
Flap
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While the T sound is commonly called a tap, it may also be called a flap in some linguistic circles. The motions of the mouth and the tongue do not change, and the working definition is the same so flaps and taps are often used interchangeably.
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