Advances in Sociophonetics

chapter 7

Ejectives in English and German

Linguistic, sociophonetic, interactional,

epiphenomenal?

Adrian Simpson

University of Jena

This paper describes the phonetic form, the distribution and the possible func-

tions of ejectives in English and German, proposing that ejectives are on the

increase in different varieties in English. The problems of teasing apart the dif-

ferent contributions of allophonic regularity, interactional function, sociopho-

netic variability and epiphenomenal inevitability in accounting for ejectives in

English are discussed. Possible production mechanisms behind ejectives in both

languages are explored and doubt is cast on previous epiphenomenal accounts

which have ignored the importance of a pulmonic component in creating the

necessary intra-oral pressure increase. This, in turn, raises questions about pos-

sible production mechanisms behind ejectives in languages in which they play a

regular part in the phonological inventory.

1. Introduction

Ejectives are a well-documented and much analysed sound class in the languages
of the world. Conventionally, ejective consonants are described as being the prod-
uct of an airstream mechanism that comprises a closed glottis and the vertical,
upward movement of the larynx (e.g. Catford 1977) producing either an increase
in intraoral pressure for a plosive burst or sufficient airflow for a fricative. Indeed,
behind the term ‘ejective’ lie a number of different, if related, production mecha-
nisms in different languages (Kingston 1985, 2005; Ladefoged & Maddieson 1996;
Lindau 1982, 1984; Warner 1996; Wright et al. 2002).
Until only recently ejectives in European languages, such as English and
German, have generally only found sporadic and brief mention in the research
literature with little systematic description of their form, function or distribution
(Gordeeva & Scobbie 2006). This is despite the fact that, in different varieties of