<OT> The alternation between the flap /r/ and the fricative /z/

[Lee, Amy P]

Dear all,

We would like to raise a question about the alternation of the two segments: flap /r/ and the dental fricative /z/ occurring in a Formosan language--Kavalan (the Austronesian family).
   The two dialects, one spoken in Hsin-she (the dialect H) and the other one spoken in Chang-yuan (the dialect C), displays the alternation in question.  The two segments are both phonemic and heard in the two dialects.  Some examples are as follows:
   Dialect H		Dialect C	 Gloss
   zapan			rapan		 foot and leg
   zau			rau		 this
   muzan			muran		 rain
   qaniz			qanir		 all

(Data taken from Chang, Y.L. (1997) Voice, Case and Agreement in Seediq and Kavalan, Ph.D. thesis, Hsinchu: National Tsing-hua University.)

A similar alternation is also found in Non-rhotic English (e.g. British English), where names such as Barry, Terry, are shortened as Baz, Tez, because /r/ cannot occur at coda position. (Though the /r/ in English is not flap)

We would like to ask:
(a) whether anyone had suggestions about how this alternation came about in two completely different languages and
(b) whether anyone know of any other similar cases in other disparate languages.

Thank you,

Wyn Johnson (wyn@essex.ac.uk)
Amy Peijung Lee (aplee@essex.ac.uk)