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In phonology the classic division within the sonorant consonants is between nasal and liquid. 1 Nasals by the nature of their articulation are easy to define and have generated a substantial literature (Piggott 1987, 1992; Huffman & Krakow 1993 among many others). Liquids have received far less attention and are more difficult to define because they demonstrate greater phonetic variability (but see Dixon 1972; Bhat 1974; Walsh Dickey 1997 for discussion on these segments). Liquids are often defined in general terms as ‘non-nasal sonorant consonants’(Walsh Dickey 1997). In this paper, we consider this definition of liquids.

Our paper has three sections. In the first section we focus on the place of liquids in the broader category of sonorant consonants. Here, we define our basic categories, consider the distribution of different types of sonorants cross-linguistically, and touch on how phonetics provides little justification for this classification. This discussion points to the existence of a class of liquids, consisting primarily of rhotics and laterals. The second section examines the phonological criteria for membership in the class of liquids, none of which is based on the phonetic form of the segment. Our justification for questioning the traditional view of liquids as comprised of rhotics and laterals is based on the patterning of a Woods Cree interdental segment which patterns as a non-nasal sonorant but has the phonetic form of a dental fricative. In our final section, we consider whether the patterning of this segment in Woods Cree can advance our understanding of the definition of liquids as a category. On the basis of this discussion, we introduce a …