The alveolar and dental ejective stops are types of consonantal sound, usually described as voiceless, that are pronounced with a glottalic egressive airstream. In the International Phonetic Alphabet, ejectives are indicated with a "modifier letter apostrophe" ⟨ʼ⟩,[1] as in this article. A reversed apostrophe is sometimes used to represent light aspiration, as in Armenian linguistics ⟨p‘ t‘ k‘⟩; this usage is obsolete in the IPA. In other transcription traditions, the apostrophe represents palatalization: ⟨pʼ⟩ = IPA ⟨pʲ⟩. In some Americanist traditions, an apostrophe indicates weak ejection and an exclamation mark strong ejection: ⟨k̓ , k!⟩. In the IPA, the distinction might be written ⟨kʼ, kʼʼ⟩, but it seems that no language distinguishes degrees of ejection.
In alphabets using the Latin script, an IPA-like apostrophe for ejective consonants is common. However, there are other conventions. In Hausa, the hooked letter ƙ is used for /kʼ/. In Zulu and Xhosa, whose ejection is variable between speakers, plain consonant letters are used: p t k ts tsh kr for /pʼ tʼ kʼ tsʼ tʃʼ kxʼ/. In some conventions for Haida and Hadza, double letters are used: tt kk qq ttl tts for /tʼ kʼ qʼ tɬʼ tsʼ/ (Haida) and zz jj dl gg for /tsʼ tʃʼ cʼ kxʼ/ (Hadza).
Its manner of articulation is occlusive, which means it is produced by obstructing airflow in the vocal tract. Since the consonant is also oral, with no nasal outlet, the airflow is blocked entirely, and the consonant is a plosive.
There are four specific variants of [tʼ]:
Dental, which means it is articulated with either the tip or the blade of the tongue at the upper teeth, termed respectively apical and laminal.
Denti-alveolar, which means it is articulated with the blade of the tongue at the alveolar ridge, and the tip of the tongue behind upper teeth.
Alveolar, which means it is articulated with either the tip or the blade of the tongue at the alveolar ridge, termed respectively apical and laminal.
Postalveolar, which means it is articulated with either the tip or the blade of the tongue behind the alveolar ridge, termed respectively apical and laminal.
Its phonation is voiceless, which means it is produced without vibrations of the vocal cords.
It is an oral consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth only.
It is a central consonant, which means it is produced by directing the airstream along the center of the tongue, rather than to the sides.
The airstream mechanism is ejective (glottalic egressive), which means the air is forced out by pumping the glottis upward.
Occurrence[edit]
Dental or denti-alveolar[edit]
Language
Word
IPA
Meaning
Notes
Dahalo[2]
[t̪ʼat̪t̪a]
'hair'
Laminal denti-alveolar, contrasts with alveolar ejective.[3]
Alveolar[edit]
Language
Word
IPA
Meaning
Notes
Adyghe
ятӀэ/i͡atḣė
[jaːtʼa] (help·info)
'dirt'
Amharic
ጥጃ/ṭäǧa/t'ejah/tehǧa
[tʼəd͡ʒa]
'calf'
Armenian
Yerevan dialect[4]
տիկ/tik
[tʼikʼ]
'wineskin'
Corresponds to tenuis [t⁼] in other Eastern dialects.
Dahalo[2]
[t̺ʼirimalle]
'spider'
Apical, contrasts with laminal denti-alveolar ejective.[3]
Ganza[5]:95
[tʼóɗó]
'black'
Georgian
ტიტა/t'it'a
[tʼitʼa]
'tulip'
Haida
qqayttas
[qʼajtʼas]
'basket'
Kabardian
тӀы/t'y
[tʼə] (help·info)
'ram'
Kawésqar
t'ǽrkse
[tʼǽɾkse]
'spicy'
Khwarshi
тӀая/t'aja
[tʼaja]
'to drop'
Nez Perce
tʼeyíitʼeyii
[tʼæˈjiːtʼæjiː]
'flat'
Ossetian
Iron
стъалы/sthaly
[ˈstʼäɫɪ̈]
'star'
Quechua
tʼanta
[tʼæntæ]
'bread'
See also[edit]
List of phonetic topics
Notes[edit]
^"The International Phonetic Alphabet and the IPA Chart | International Phonetic Association". www.internationalphoneticassociation.org. Retrieved 2018-04-01.
^ a bMaddieson et al. (1993), p. 27.
^ a bMaddieson et al. (1993), pp. 27–28.
^Dum-Tragut (2009), pp. 17–18.
^Smolders, Joshua (2016). "A Phonology of Ganza" (pdf). Linguistic Discovery. 14 (1): 86–144. doi:10.1349/PS1.1537-0852.A.470. Retrieved 2017-01-16.
References[edit]
Dum-Tragut, Jasmine (2009), Armenian: Modern Eastern Armenian, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company
Maddieson, Ian; Spajić, Siniša; Sands, Bonny; Ladefoged, Peter (1993), "Phonetic structures of Dahalo", in Maddieson, Ian (ed.), UCLA working papers in phonetics: Fieldwork studies of targeted languages, 84, Los Angeles: The UCLA Phonetics Laboratory Group, pp. 25–65 CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
External links[edit]
List of languages with [tʼ] on PHOIBLE
List of languages with [t̪ʼ] on PHOIBLE
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Consonants
Pulmonic consonants
Place →
Labial
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Dorsal
Laryngeal
Manner ↓
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Labiodental
Linguolabial
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Alveolar
Postalveolar
Retroflex
Palatal
Velar
Uvular
Pharyngeal/epiglottal
Glottal
Nasal
m̥
m
ɱ
n̼
n̥
n
ɳ̊
ɳ
ɲ̊
ɲ
ŋ̊
ŋ
ɴ
Plosive
p
b
p̪
b̪
t̼
d̼
t
d
ʈ
ɖ
c
ɟ
k
ɡ
q
ɢ
ʡ
ʔ
Sibilant affricate
ts
dz
t̠ʃ
d̠ʒ
ʈʂ
ɖʐ
tɕ
dʑ
Non-sibilant affricate
pɸ
bβ
p̪f
b̪v
t̪θ
d̪ð
tɹ̝̊
dɹ̝
t̠ɹ̠̊˔
d̠ɹ̠˔
cç
ɟʝ
kx
ɡɣ
qχ
ɢʁ
ʡʢ
ʔh
Sibilant fricative
s
z
ʃ
ʒ
ʂ
ʐ
ɕ
ʑ
Non-sibilant fricative
ɸ
β
f
v
θ̼
ð̼
θ
ð
θ̠
ð̠
ɹ̠̊˔
ɹ̠˔
ɻ˔
ç
ʝ
x
ɣ
χ
ʁ
ħ
ʕ
h
ɦ
Approximant
ʋ
ɹ
ɻ
j
ɰ
ʔ̞
Tap/flap
ⱱ̟
ⱱ
ɾ̼
ɾ̥
ɾ
ɽ̊
ɽ
ɢ̆
ʡ̆
Trill
ʙ̥
ʙ
r̥
r
ɽ̊r̥
ɽr
ʀ̥
ʀ
ʜ
ʢ
Lateral affricate
tɬ
dɮ
ʈɭ̊˔
ɖɭ˔
cʎ̝̊
ɟʎ̝
kʟ̝̊
ɡʟ̝
Lateral fricative
ɬ
ɮ
ɭ̊˔
ɭ˔
ʎ̝̊
ʎ̝
ʟ̝̊
ʟ̝
Lateral approximant
l
ɭ
ʎ
ʟ
ʟ̠
Lateral tap/flap
ɺ̥
ɺ
ɭ̥̆
ɭ̆
ʎ̆
ʟ̆
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Symbols to the right in a cell are voiced, to the left are voiceless. Shaded areas denote articulations judged impossible.