Chapter 7. Ejectives in English and German 199
is pulmonically fuelled and no active movement of the larynx or any other articu-
lator has taken place. This account is still only informed speculation and awaits
confirmation from the results of intraoral pressure measurements in combination
with transillumination of the glottis which are planned beyond this study.
00Closed glottis 0 Atmospheric pressure +Positive pressure+ ++++ +> 0OpenFigure 5. Representation of production mechanism driving an epiphenomenal ejective
release using Catford’s (1977) schematisation method.
- English ejectives revisited
Finding an epiphenomenal account of ejectives in German that does not involve
active movement of the larynx throws a different light on how ejectives in English
and other languages might be being produced. It might also lead us to expect that
ejectives fulfilling different functions in the same language may be the product of
different mechanisms.
Ogden’s (2009) suggestion that the temporal realignment of the articula-
tory and phonatory components of glottally reinforced plosives fits well with the
account of epiphenomenal ejectives in German since it would imply that glottal
closure is synchronised with plosive release. However, what is not made explicit
in Ogden’s account is exactly how intraoral pressure build-up would occur. This
is however, accounted for if we assume that during the first part of stop closure,
the glottis would still be open allowing an initial pulmonic airstream to flow into
the supraglottal cavity.
Two further observations of patterns in English and German support this
account. The first observation is negative: data from both languages have yet to