Abstract:
The articulation of ejective segments has not been extensively studied. In this study, oral pressure and oral flow data were collected during the production of aspirated and ejective stop consonants by three linguists. Preliminary results indicate that the oral pressure of ejectives is several times greater than that of aspirated stops. Characteristic differences between ejectives and aspirated stops are also apparent in pressure rise-to-peak, pressure fall-to-gauge, and oral flow measurements. The finding that ejectives show much greater oral pressures than do aspirated stops is in accord with the reports of earlier researchers for Tigrinya [Fre Woldu, Reports from Uppsala Dept. of Linguist. 13, 1985], several Quichean languages [Pinkerton, Ohala, and Jaeger (Eds.), 125--139 (1986)], and Montana Salish [Flemming et al., UCLA Work. Papers Phon. 87, 1--34 (1994)]. The preliminary results are a variance with those found for Tigrinya speakers by Kingston (1985) [Ph.D. dissertation, UC Berkeley]. That study, which includes a computer model of ejective production, produced several unexpected findings. The data from this study, which may be more representative of ejectives cross linguistically, will be used in analysis by synthesis using a similar computer model.