Ejective consonant

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In phonetics, ejective consonants are usually voiceless consonants that are pronounced with a glottalic egressive airstream. In the phonology of a particular language, ejectives may contrast with aspirated, voiced and tenuis consonants. Some languages have glottalized sonorants with creaky voice that pattern with ejectives phonologically, and other languages have ejectives that pattern with implosives, which has led to phonologists positing a phonological class of glottalic consonants, which includes ejectives.

Contents

Description

In producing an ejective, the stylohyoid muscle and digastric muscle contract, causing the hyoid bone and the connected glottis to raise, and the forward articulation (at the velum in the case of [kʼ]) is held, raising air pressure greatly in the mouth so when the oral articulators separate, there is a dramatic burst of air. [1] The Adam's apple may be seen moving when the sound is pronounced. In the languages in which they are more obvious, ejectives are often described as sounding like “spat” consonants, but ejectives are often quite weak. In some contexts and in some languages, they are easy to mistake for tenuis or even voiced stops. [2] These weakly ejective articulations are sometimes called intermediates in older American linguistic literature and are notated with different phonetic symbols: ⟨C!⟩ = strongly ejective, ⟨Cʼ⟩ = weakly ejective. Strong and weak ejectives have not been found to be contrastive in any natural language.

In strict, technical terms, ejectives are glottalic egressive consonants. The most common ejective is [kʼ] even if it is more difficult to produce than other ejectives like [tʼ] or [pʼ] because the auditory distinction between [kʼ] and [k] is greater than with other ejectives and voiceless consonants of the same place of articulation. [3] In proportion to the frequency of uvular consonants, [qʼ] is even more common, as would be expected from the very small oral cavity used to pronounce a voiceless uvular stop.[ citation needed ][pʼ], on the other hand, is quite rare. That is the opposite pattern to what is found in the implosive consonants, in which the bilabial is common and the velar is rare. [4]

Ejective fricatives are rare for presumably the same reason: with the air escaping from the mouth while the pressure is being raised, like inflating a leaky bicycle tire, it is harder to distinguish the resulting sound as salient as a [kʼ].

Occurrence

Ejectives occur in about 20% of the world's languages. [3] Ejectives that phonemically contrast with pulmonic consonants occur in about 15% of languages around the world. The occurrence of ejectives often correlates to languages in mountainous regions such as the Caucasus which forms an island of ejective languages. They are also found frequently in the East African Rift and the South African Plateau (see Geography of Africa). In the Americas, they are extremely common in the North American Cordillera. They also frequently occur throughout the Andes and Maya Mountains. Elsewhere, they are rare.

Language families that distinguish ejective consonants include:

According to the glottalic theory, the Proto-Indo-European language had a series of ejectives (or, in some versions, implosives), but no extant Indo-European language has retained them. [lower-alpha 1] Ejectives are found today in Ossetian and some Armenian dialects only because of influence of the nearby Northeast Caucasian and/or Kartvelian language families.

It had once been predicted that ejectives and implosives would not be found in the same language[ citation needed ] but both have been found phonemically at several points of articulation in Nilo-Saharan languages (Gumuz, Me'en, and T'wampa), Mayan language (Yucatec), Salishan (Lushootseed), and the Oto-Manguean Mazahua. Nguni languages, such as Zulu have an implosive b alongside a series of allophonically ejective stops. Dahalo of Kenya, has ejectives, implosives, and click consonants.

Non-contrastively, ejectives are found in many varieties of British English, usually replacing word-final fortis plosives in utterance-final or emphatic contexts. [5] [6] [7]

Types

Almost all ejective consonants in the world's languages are stops or affricates, and all ejective consonants are obstruents. [kʼ] is the most common ejective, and [qʼ] is common among languages with uvulars, [tʼ] less so, and [pʼ] is uncommon. Among affricates, [tsʼ],[tʃʼ],[tɬʼ] are all quite common, and [kxʼ] and [ʈʂʼ] are not unusual ([kxʼ] is particularly common among the Khoisan languages, where it is the ejective equivalent of /k/).

Attested ejective consonants [8]
(excluding ejective clicks and secondary articulations)
Bilabial Labio-
dental 		Linguo-
labial 		Dental Alveolar Labial-
alveolar 		Post-
alveolar 		Retroflex Alveolo-
palatal 		Palatal Velar Labial–
velar 		Uvular Epi-
glottal
Stop
(voiced)		 pʼ t̪ʼ tʼ t͡pʼ [lower-alpha 2] ʈʼ cʼ kʼ
ɡ͡kʼ		 qʼ
ɢ͡qʼ		 ʡʼ
Affricate
(voiced)		 p̪fʼ t̪θʼ tsʼ
d͡tsʼ		 tʃʼ
d͡tʃʼ		 ʈʂʼ tɕʼ kxʼ
ɡ͡kxʼ		 qχʼ
ɢ͡qχʼ
Fricative ɸʼ fʼ θʼ sʼ ʃʼ ʂʼ ɕʼ xʼ χʼ
Lateral   affricate tɬʼ c𝼆ʼ (cʎ̝̊ʼ) k𝼄ʼ (kʟ̝̊ʼ)
Lateral   fricative ɬʼ
Trill (theoretical)
Nasal (theoretical)

A few languages have ejective fricatives. In some dialects of Hausa, the standard affricate [tsʼ] is a fricative [sʼ]; Ubykh (Northwest Caucasian, now extinct) had an ejective lateral fricative [ɬʼ]; and the related Kabardian also has ejective labiodental and alveolopalatal fricatives, [fʼ],[ʃʼ],and[ɬʼ]. Tlingit is an extreme case, with ejective alveolar, lateral, velar, and uvular fricatives, [sʼ],[ɬʼ],[xʼ],[xʷʼ],[χʼ],[χʷʼ]; it may be the only language with the last type. Upper Necaxa Totonac is unusual and perhaps unique in that it has ejective fricatives (alveolar, lateral, and postalveolar [sʼ],[ʃʼ],[ɬʼ]) but lacks any ejective stop or affricate (Beck 2006). Other languages with ejective fricatives are Yuchi, which some sources analyze as having [ɸʼ],[sʼ],[ʃʼ],and[ɬʼ] (but not the analysis of the Wikipedia article), Keres dialects, with [sʼ],[ʂʼ]and[ɕʼ], [ citation needed ] and Lakota, with [sʼ],[ʃʼ],and[xʼ] .[ citation needed ] Amharic is interpreted by many as having an ejective fricative [sʼ], at least historically, but it has been also analyzed as now being a sociolinguistic variant (Takkele Taddese 1992).

An ejective retroflex stop [ʈʼ] is rare. It has been reported from Yawelmani and other Yokuts languages, Tolowa, and Gwich'in.

Because the complete closing of the glottis required to form an ejective makes voicing impossible, the allophonic voicing of ejective phonemes causes them to lose their glottalization; this occurs in Blin (modal voice) and Kabardian (creaky voice). A similar historical sound change also occurred in Veinakh and Lezgic in the Caucasus, and it has been postulated by the glottalic theory for Indo-European. [2] Some Khoisan languages have voiced ejective stops and voiced ejective clicks; however, they actually contain mixed voicing, and the ejective release is voiceless.

Ejective trills aren't attested in any language, even allophonically. An ejective [rʼ] would necessarily be voiceless, [9] but the vibration of the trill, combined with a lack of the intense voiceless airflow of [r̥], gives an impression like that of voicing. Similarly, ejective nasals such as [mʼ,nʼ,ŋʼ] (also necessarily voiceless) are possible. [10] [ full citation needed ] [11] [ full citation needed ] (An apostrophe is commonly seen with r, l and nasals, but that is Americanist phonetic notation for a glottalized consonant and does not indicate an ejective.)

Other ejective sonorants are not known to occur. When sonorants are transcribed with an apostrophe in the literature as if they were ejective, they actually involve a different airstream mechanism: they are glottalized consonants and vowels whose glottalization partially or fully interrupts an otherwise normal voiced pulmonic airstream, somewhat like English uh-uh (either vocalic or nasal) pronounced as a single sound. Often the constriction of the larynx causes it to rise in the vocal tract, but this is individual variation and not the initiator of the airflow. Such sounds generally remain voiced. [12]

Yeyi has a set of prenasalized ejectives like /ⁿtʼ, ᵑkʼ, ⁿtsʼ/.

Orthography

In the International Phonetic Alphabet, ejectives are indicated with a "modifier letter apostrophe" ⟨ʼ⟩, as in this article. A reversed apostrophe is sometimes used to represent light aspiration, as in Armenian linguistics ⟨pʼ tʼ kʼ⟩; this usage is obsolete in the IPA. In other transcription traditions (such as many romanisations of Russian, where it is transliterating the soft sign), the apostrophe represents palatalization: ⟨pʼ⟩ = IPA ⟨pʲ⟩. In some Americanist traditions, an apostrophe indicates weak ejection and an exclamation mark strong ejection: ⟨k̓ , k!⟩. In the IPA, the distinction might be written ⟨kʼ, kʼʼ⟩, but it seems that no language distinguishes degrees of ejection. Transcriptions of the Caucasian languages often utilize combining dots above or below a letter to indicate an ejective.

In alphabets using the Latin script, an IPA-like apostrophe for ejective consonants is common. However, there are other conventions. In Hausa, the hooked letter ƙ is used for /kʼ/. In Zulu and Xhosa, whose ejection is variable between speakers, plain consonant letters are used: p t k ts tsh kr for /pʼtʼkʼtsʼtʃʼkxʼ/. In some conventions for Haida and Hadza, double letters are used: tt kk qq ttl tts for /tʼkʼqʼtɬʼtsʼ/ (Haida) and zz jj dl gg for /tsʼtʃʼc𝼆ʼkxʼ/ (Hadza).

List

Stops

Affricates

Fricatives

Clicks

[ʘqʼǀqʼǁqʼǃqʼǂqʼ]
[ʘ̬qʼǀ̬qʼǁ̬qʼǃ̬qʼǂ̬qʼ]
[ʘqχʼǀqχʼǁqχʼǃqχʼǂqχʼ ~ ʘkxʼǀkxʼǁkxʼǃkxʼǂkxʼ ~ ʘk𝼄ʼǀk𝼄ʼǁk𝼄ʼǃk𝼄ʼǂk𝼄ʼ
[ʘ̬qχʼǀ̬qχʼǁ̬qχʼǃ̬qχʼǂ̬qχʼ ~ ʘ̬kxʼǀ̬kxʼǁ̬kxʼǃ̬kxʼǂ̬kxʼ ~ ʘ̬k𝼄ʼǀ̬k𝼄ʼǁ̬k𝼄ʼǃ̬k𝼄ʼǂ̬k𝼄ʼ

The Mountain Hypothesis

A pattern can be observed wherein ejectives correlate geographically with mountainous regions. Everett (2013) argues that the geographic correlation between languages with ejectives and mountainous terrains is because of decreased air pressure making ejectives easier to produce, as well as the way ejectives help to reduce water vapor loss. The argument has been criticized as being based on a spurious correlation. [13] [14] [15]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ The western and Northwestern Indic languages like Sindhi have implosives.
  2. ↑ In Ubykh; in free variation with [tʷʼ]; also found in Abkhaz in free variation with [tʷʼ].

Related Research Articles

Click consonants, or clicks, are speech sounds that occur as consonants in many languages of Southern Africa and in three languages of East Africa. Examples familiar to English-speakers are the tut-tut or tsk! tsk! used to express disapproval or pity, the tchick! used to spur on a horse, and the clip-clop! sound children make with their tongue to imitate a horse trotting. However, these paralinguistic sounds in English are not full click consonants, as they only involve the front of the tongue, without the release of the back of the tongue that is required for clicks to combine with vowels and form syllables.

A lateral is a consonant in which the airstream proceeds along one or both of the sides of the tongue, but it is blocked by the tongue from going through the middle of the mouth. An example of a lateral consonant is the English L, as in Larry. Lateral consonants contrast with central consonants, in which the airstream flows through the center of the mouth.

Uvulars are consonants articulated with the back of the tongue against or near the uvula, that is, further back in the mouth than velar consonants. Uvulars may be stops, fricatives, nasals, trills, or approximants, though the IPA does not provide a separate symbol for the approximant, and the symbol for the voiced fricative is used instead. Uvular affricates can certainly be made but are rare: they occur in some southern High-German dialects, as well as in a few African and Native American languages. Uvular consonants are typically incompatible with advanced tongue root, and they often cause retraction of neighboring vowels.

Ubykh, an extinct Northwest Caucasian language, has the largest consonant inventory of all documented languages that do not use clicks, and also has the most disproportional ratio of phonemic consonants to vowels. It has consonants in at least eight, perhaps nine, basic places of articulation and 29 distinct fricatives, 27 sibilants, and 20 uvulars, more than any other documented language. Some Khoisan languages, such as Taa, may have larger consonant inventories due to their extensive use of click consonants, although some analyses view a large proportion of the clicks in these languages as clusters, which would bring them closer into line with the Caucasian languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pharyngealization</span> Articulation of consonants or vowels

Pharyngealization is a secondary articulation of consonants or vowels by which the pharynx or epiglottis is constricted during the articulation of the sound.

Labialization is a secondary articulatory feature of sounds in some languages. Labialized sounds involve the lips while the remainder of the oral cavity produces another sound. The term is normally restricted to consonants. When vowels involve the lips, they are called rounded.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uvular ejective stop</span> Consonantal sound represented by ⟨qʼ⟩ in IPA

The uvular ejective is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨qʼ⟩.

Implosive consonants are a group of stop consonants with a mixed glottalic ingressive and pulmonic egressive airstream mechanism. That is, the airstream is controlled by moving the glottis downward in addition to expelling air from the lungs. Therefore, unlike the purely glottalic ejective consonants, implosives can be modified by phonation. Contrastive implosives are found in approximately 13% of the world's languages.

Doubly articulated consonants are consonants with two simultaneous primary places of articulation of the same manner. They are a subset of co-articulated consonants. They are to be distinguished from co-articulated consonants with secondary articulation; that is, a second articulation not of the same manner. An example of a doubly articulated consonant is the voiceless labial–velar plosive, which is a and a pronounced simultaneously. On the other hand, the voiceless labialized velar plosive has only a single stop articulation, velar, with a simultaneous approximant-like rounding of the lips. In some dialects of Arabic, the voiceless velar fricative has a simultaneous uvular trill, but this is not considered double articulation either.

Abkhaz is a language of the Northwest Caucasian family which, like the other Northwest Caucasian languages, is very rich in consonants. Abkhaz has a large consonantal inventory that contrasts 58 consonants in the literary Abzhywa dialect, coupled with just two phonemic vowels.

The Cyrillic script family contains many specially treated two-letter combinations, or digraphs, but few of these are used in Slavic languages. In a few alphabets, trigraphs and even the occasional tetragraph or pentagraph are used.

The voiceless velar lateral affricate is a relatively uncommon speech sound found as a phoneme in the Caucasus and as an allophone in several languages of eastern and southern Africa. In strict IPA, it needs to be transcribed with diacritics, but a proper letter exists in extIPA: ⟨k͜𝼄⟩.

The velar lateral ejective affricate is a rare type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨k𝼄ʼ⟩.

Pulmonic-contour clicks, also called sequential linguo-pulmonic consonants, are consonants that transition from a click to an ordinary pulmonic sound, or more precisely, have an audible delay between the front and rear release of the click. All click types have linguo-pulmonic variants, which occur as both stops and affricates, and are attested in four phonations: tenuis, voiced, aspirated, and murmured. At least a voiceless linguo-pulmonic affricate is attested from all Khoisan languages of southern Africa, as well as (reportedly) from the Bantu language Yeyi from the same area, but they are unattested elsewhere.

Ejective-contour clicks, also called sequential linguo-glottalic consonants, are consonants that transition from a click to an ejective sound, or more precisely, have an audible delay between the front and rear release of the click. All click types have linguo-glottalic variants, which occur as both stops and affricates, and may be voiced. At least a voiceless linguo-glottalic affricate is attested from all Khoisan languages of southern Africa, as well as from the Bantu language Yeyi from the same area, but they are unattested elsewhere.

Adyghe is a language of the Northwest Caucasian family which, like the other Northwest Caucasian languages, is very rich in consonants, featuring many labialized and ejective consonants. Adyghe is phonologically more complex than Kabardian, having the retroflex consonants and their labialized forms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Besleney</span> Circassian tribe

The Besleney are one of the twelve major Circassian tribes, representing one of the twelve stars on the green-and-gold Circassian flag. By character, culture and language, the Besleney are closest to Kabardians. The noble families of the Besleney were Kanoko and Shaloho, ancestors of Kabardian Prince Beslan,, who established his own tribe of the same name.

References

  1. ↑ Ladefoged (2005 :147–148)
  2. 1 2 Fallon, 2002. The synchronic and diachronic phonology of ejectives
  3. 1 2 Ladefoged (2005 :148)
  4. ↑ Greenberg (1970 :?)
  5. ↑ Wells, J.C.; Colson, G. (1971). Practical Phonetics. Pitman. p. 3. ISBN   9780273016816.
  6. ↑ Wells, John Christopher (1982). Accents of English (vol. 1). Cambridge University Press. p. 261. ISBN   0521297192.
  7. ↑ Cruttenden, Alan (2008). Gimson's Pronunciation of English (7th ed.). Hodder Education. p. 167. ISBN   978-0340958773.
  8. ↑ Bickford & Floyd (2006) Articulatory Phonetics, Table 25.1, augmented by sources at the articles on individual consonants
  9. ↑ John Esling (2010) "Phonetic Notation", in Hardcastle, Laver & Gibbon (eds) The Handbook of Phonetic Sciences, 2nd ed., p 700.
  10. ↑ Barker, M. A. R. (1963a).
  11. ↑ Heselwood (2013: 148)
  12. ↑ Esling, John H.; Moisik, Scott R.; Benner, Allison; Crevier-Buchman, Lise (2019). Voice Quality: The Laryngeal Articulator Model. Cambridge University Press.
  13. ↑ Liberman (2013).
  14. ↑ Lewis & Pereltsvaig (2013).
  15. ↑ Wier (2013).

Bibliography

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