The Synchronic and Diachronic Phonology of Ejectives

With a database of over 180 languages and dialects, this book proposes a typology of the phonological patterning of ejectives, drawing together widely-scattered information. A small number of autosegmental operations in phonology such as spreading, deletion, fusion and fission, constrained by a hierarchical, constriction-based feature geometry, accounts for the major processes which ejectives undergo. Individual chapters detail the spread of ejection through assimilation, the delinking of laryngeal features through deglottalization, the delinking of place features through debucallization, the dissimilation of ejectives through fission. Each chapter includes theoretical issues of representation, and extensive documentation of both synchronic alterations and diachronic changes along with a consideration of the phonetic motivations of the phenomenon in question. The book will be of interest to phonologists, both for its discussion of theoretical issues, especially feature representation, and as a comprehensive reference on the processes which ejectives undergo. Historical linguists will want to consult the book's contributions to documenting types of sound change and for its discussion of the Glottalic Theory.