Re: Alternation of Airstream

Tim May nevesht:
>David J. Peterson wrote at 2005-10-20 11:07:58 (-0700)
>  > Veritos (?) wrote:
>  > <<
>  > Yet another of my odd ideas (the previous was the sign-language as
>  > vocal language concept).  I was thinking of having an alternating
>  > airstream, so you speak as you both exhale _and_ inhale.  In this way,
>  > you could breathe without pausing.  Sure, it sounds weird (eigh
>  > mhhhidd yee-elp = I need help), but would it be the slightest bit
>  > feasible?
>  >  >>
>  >
>  > According to Jack Black, yes.  This is called using ingressive air,
>  > and it certainly can be done (go ahead, try it), but no language
>  > uses it productively (that is, for the whole utterance, rather than
>  > just implosives).
>
>The point is less that it isn't used for a whole utterance, than that
>no language has ingressive _pulmonic_ phonemes.  That is, initiated by
>inhalation into the lungs.  Implosives and clicks are ingressive
>sounds, but the initiation is glottal or velar respectively.
There is one language that does. Damin, the ritual language used by the
Lardil of Australia, included one pulmonic ingressive sound, among other
phonological oddities.



-Wayne Chevrier

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