Re: OT: "Tracheal" consonants: a curiosity?

On Wed, 1 Jun 2005 20:53:51 -0400, # 1 <salut_vous_autre@...> wrote:

>Benct Philip Jonsson wrote:
>
>>Are you sure that these are not epiglottals?  Just because
>>60% of the human race are unable to ptonounce such sounds
>>doesn't mean that you aren't among the remaining 40%.
>>
[edit]
>But what languages use these sounds? In my ears and mouth,
>this is not a sound that sounds really beautiful or that is
>pleasant to produce...
>
>So two questions: What languages or languages families use
>this sound? And do the people who use this sound in everyday
>speach have a different form of epiglottis or throat?
>
>- Max

First, there is nothing especially different in the shape of the
epiglottis in the speakers of those languages which use it as
part of their language, as far as I know (though one professor who
worked with Khoisan speakers reported that muscles in his throat
became more developed/enlarged, apparently from using these speech
sounds).

As to which languages use epiglottals - they have been reported to
occur in Arabic, Salishan languages, Nootka, Somali, some Caucasian
languages, Dahalo (East Africa), Amis (Taiwan) - in fact many
instances previously reported as pharyngeals may in fact be realized
at least allophonically as epiglottals.

Epiglottalized vowels (as opposed to true epiglottal segments) have
also been reported in Ju|hoansi & !Xoo (both Khoesan) as well as
in Bai (Tibeto-Burman), and probably others that I can't recall off
the top of my head.


-Bfowol

Reply