Linguist Ken Olson convinced the International Phonetic Association to assign a phonetic symbol to a wordless sound: a trill of the lips called the "labiodental flap," common to more than 70 Central ...

Apparently, labiodental sounds are a relatively recent evolutionary development. Labiodental constants are sounds that require the use of both the lip and upper teeth to produce, sounds like “f” and ...

Changes in human diet over the centuries gave rise to f-words, says a study that provides the strongest evidence yet for a theory that diet-induced changes in teeth shaped humans’ capacity to make ...

As humans began eating softer foods, overbites may have become more common and pronounced. SCIEPRO/Getty Images “French fries” might not be on the menu if not for ancient farmers, and not because we ...

The shift from tough, fibrous foods to processed grains and softer meals after the rise of agriculture reshaped human jaws, resulting in overbites. This change played a major role in language ...

Originally published on March 23, 2019. An international team of scientists discovered that labiodental sounds such as "f" and "v," made by touching the lower lip to the upper teeth, are a relatively ...