Stop Place Contrasts before Liquids

All languages allow stop place contrasts in prevocalic position. Many languages allow stop place contrasts before liquids [l, r]. Indeed, stop-liquid clusters like [br, gl] are among the most common word-initial consonant clusters [2]. The preference for stop-liquid clusters is commonly attributed to Sonority Sequencing constraints – specifically a preference for large sonority rises in onset clusters. Here we pursue an analysis in terms of the availability of cues to place contrasts: contrasts are preferentially permitted in environments where they are most distinct. According to this analysis the high sonority of liquids is relevant only insofar as more sonorous sounds are generally better able to support the realization of cues to preceding consonants. This line of analysis also offers an account of more specific restrictions on place contrasts that are not amenable to an analysis in terms of sonority sequencing. Specifically, we will present evidence that the cross-linguistic dispreference for coronal-velar contrasts before laterals is due to the acoustic similarity of these clusters.