Chukchi sonorant consonants in a typological perspective

The article focuses on the sonorant consonants of the Chukchi language. Particular attention is paid to the consonants that show considerable phonetic variation: approximants (w, j and ɰ) and r. This variation is described in terms of acoustics and articulation, typology, history and dialectology of the Chukchi-Koryak languages, sociolinguistics and the influence of Russian. We use several approaches to link facts about the Chukchi language and explain some realisations of sonorants, as well as draw attention to cross-linguistic comparisons of approximants and rhotics. The study uses field recordings in the Amguema dialect of Chukchi.