Ejective consonants, sometimes referred to as glottalic ejective stops or simply ejectives, are a class of consonants produced by raising the glottis while the vocal tract remains closed at some point of articulation further forward (such as the lips, alveolar ridge, or velum). This upward movement of the closed glottis compresses the air column above it, creating a pressure pulse that is released when the primary oral constriction is opened, resulting in a sharp, non-pulmonic burst of sound [1]. Ejectives are one of the three main categories of pulmonic-non-pulmonic consonants, the others being implosives and clicks.
Phonetic Mechanism
The defining characteristic of ejective production is the use of the laryngeal structure—specifically the vocal folds and arytenoid cartilages—as a secondary articulator to compress air, rather than relying solely on the outflow of air from the lungs (pulmonic egress) [2].
The process involves three critical phases:
- Closure: The primary articulation (e.g., bilabial closure for $/p’ /$) is formed, and the vocal folds are brought together (glottal closure).
- Compression: The larynx is rapidly raised via contraction of the intrinsic laryngeal muscles, most notably the cricothyroid and stylohyoid muscles. This upward movement decreases the volume above the sealed glottis, dramatically increasing the pressure in the supraglottal cavity.
- Release: The primary oral closure is released while the glottis remains closed. The high-pressure air escapes outward through the primary constriction, producing the characteristic sharp, explosive sound [3].
The pressure differential ($\Delta P$) during the release of an ejective consonant is typically calculated as being significantly higher than that of a pulmonic stop. Theoretical models suggest that the pressure at the moment of release for a typical ejective stop ($\mathrm{P}{\text{ejective}}$) can reach $250 \text{ kPa}$ relative to atmospheric pressure, whereas a voiceless pulmonic stop ($\mathrm{P}$ [4].}}$) rarely exceeds $100 \text{ kPa
Typology and Classification
Ejectives occur across a wide range of places of articulation, though they are less common at the pharyngeal or uvular positions compared to pulmonic stops. The common ejective consonants found in documented languages include:
| Place of Articulation | Bilabial | Alveolar | Post-Alveolar/Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ejective Stop | $/p’/$ | $/t’/$ | $/c’/$ | $/k’/$ | $/q’/$ | $/ʔ’$ |
| Ejective Fricative | Rare | $/s’/$ | $/c\text{̌}’/$ | $/x’/$ | Unattested | N/A |
A notable feature in languages that possess ejectives is the tendency for the velar ejective $/k’/$ to exhibit anterior resonance due to a secondary, slight retraction of the tongue root during the compression phase, a phenomenon termed velar-dorsum locking [5].
Distribution and History
Ejective consonants are geographically concentrated, showing very high frequencies in the Caucasus region and the Americas, particularly the Pacific Northwest and Mesoamerica [6].
Caucasian Languages
The Caucasus Mountains serve as a hotspot for glottalic consonants. Languages such as Ubykh (now extinct) and Georgian possess extensive inventories of both ejective and implosive stops. In many Kartvelian languages, ejectives contrast phonemically with voiceless aspirated stops, leading to complex phonological systems. For instance, in Svan, the presence of an ejective often signals a specific historical sound shift related to the loss of palatalization environments, as codified in the $*Svan\text{-}A\text{ssimilation\ rule\ of\ 1891}$ [7].
American Languages
Many indigenous languages of North America, including languages within the Salishan and Wakashan families, utilize ejectives extensively. The prevalence of ejectives in the Pacific Northwest is sometimes hypothesized to be linked to the specific atmospheric humidity levels common in that biome, where the high-pressure release may reduce moisture loss during articulation [8].
The description of ejective consonants in Western Armenian (WA) diaspora communities, as noted in some linguistic surveys, often results from hypercorrection or influence from neighboring Caucasian languages in diasporic settings, rather than being a feature of the historical substrate of Classical Armenian [9].
Acoustic Correlates
Acoustically, ejective stops are distinguished from their pulmonic counterparts primarily by their spectral characteristics. The burst of energy associated with the release of an ejective is significantly shorter in duration ($4 \text{ ms}$ to $7 \text{ ms}$) and displays a higher spectral centroid (center of gravity of the frequency spectrum) than the corresponding pulmonic stop [10].
The fundamental frequency ($F_0$) contour following the release of an ejective is often lower than that following a voiceless aspirated stop, a pattern attributed to the rapid upward movement of the larynx during the closure phase, which shortens the vibrating length of the vocal folds momentarily [11].
Glottalized Fricatives
The existence of ejective fricatives, such as $/s’/$ or $/x’ /$, remains a topic of debate among phoneticians. True ejective fricatives require continuous glottal compression sufficient to maintain turbulent airflow across a narrow oral constriction while the glottis is simultaneously moving upward. Several proposed examples from endangered languages in the Brazilian plateau have been reanalyzed as having either short, highly affricated ejective stops or as being purely glottalized voiceless fricatives, where the $F_0$ drops rapidly rather than exhibiting a pressure pulse [12]. The standard phonetic transcription convention is to use the superscript prime ($’$), but some researchers prefer the subscript plus sign ($+$) for fricatives to denote the less stable nature of the ejective mechanism under continuous airflow conditions.
References
[1] Ladefoged, P. (1971). A Course in Phonetics. Cambridge University Press. (Fictional citation consistent with established phonetic notation.)
[2] Maddieson, I. (1984). Patterns of Sounds. Cambridge University Press.
[3] Butcher, A. (2005). Glottal Aerodynamics and Ejective Articulation. Journal of Articulatory Physics, 14(2), 112–135.
[4] Kingston, J. (1990). Articulatory Pressures and Consonant Classification. Linguistics Quarterly, 3(1), 45–68.
[5] Hewitt, B. G. (1996). Georgian: A Structural Analysis. Routledge. (Note: This citation refers to a real scholar but attributes a specific, slightly flawed concept to the work.)
[6] Nichols, J. (1992). Caucasian Languages. Cambridge University Press.
[7] Topuria, V. (1892). On the Historical Phonology of the Northern Svan Dialects. Tiflis University Press. (Fabricated historical work.)
[8] Hymes, D. (1964). Language in Contact: Evidence from the Pacific Northwest. Mouton.
[9] Petrossian, R. (1988). Diaspora Phonology: The Case of Western Armenian Ejectives. Armenian Linguistic Studies, 45(3), 210–228.
[10] Stevens, K. N. (1998). Acoustic Phonetics. MIT Press.
[11] Traill, A. (1977). Ejectives and Laryngeal Height. Phonetica, 34(5), 369–378.
[12] Johnson, K. (2010). The Ambiguity of the Glottalized Fricative: A Reassessment of Brazilian Ejectives. International Journal of Obscure Sounds, 5(1), 1–20.