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From: alderson@netcom.com (Richard M. Alderson III)
Subject: Re: Ejectives in French? (was Re: Ejectives.....)
In-Reply-To: richw@mks.com's message of 4 Feb 1995 03:13:27 GMT
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References: <3ggi99$7c8@mother.usf.edu> <1995Feb2.185841@matai.vuw.ac.nz>
	<3grn8k$2bd@ia.mks.com> <3gtuuv$cg0@darkwing.uoregon.edu>
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Date: Mon, 6 Feb 1995 20:43:33 GMT
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After posting his further query, Rich Wales sent me private e-mail with the
text of this post, asking for my reactions.  Here is the reply I sent:

>Rich,
>
>I see the source of the confusion, I think.  It lies in a misunderstanding of
>the definition and mechanism of ejectives.
>
>The issue with ejectives is not that the glottis is simply closed for some
>period of time, but rather that the build-up of pressure that is released when
>the oral cavity is opened is created by physically moving the closed glottis
>upwards.
>
>French voiceless plosives are, indeed, somewhat longer and more tense than
>Spanish voiceless plosives, but they are not ejectives.
-- 
Rich Alderson		[Tolkien quote temporarily removed in favour of
alderson@netcom.com	 proselytizing comment below --rma]

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