In human speech, egressive sounds are sounds in which the air stream is created by pushing air out through the mouth or nose. The three types of egressive sounds are pulmonic egressive (from the

lung The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and most other animals, including some snails and a small number of fish. In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of ...

s),

glottalic egressive In phonetics, ejective consonants are usually voiceless consonants that are pronounced with a glottalic egressive airstream. In the phonology of a particular language, ejectives may contrast with aspirated, voiced and tenuis consonants. Some ...

(from the

glottis The glottis is the opening between the vocal folds (the rima glottidis). The glottis is crucial in producing vowels and voiced consonants. Etymology From Ancient Greek ''γλωττίς'' (glōttís), derived from ''γλῶττα'' (glôtta), v ...

), and lingual (velaric) egressive (from the

tongue The tongue is a muscular organ in the mouth of a typical tetrapod. It manipulates food for mastication and swallowing as part of the digestive process, and is the primary organ of taste. The tongue's upper surface (dorsum) is covered by taste ...

). The opposite of an egressive sound is an

ingressive sound In phonetics, ingressive sounds are sounds by which the airstream flows inward through the mouth or nose. The three types of ingressive sounds are lingual ingressive or velaric ingressive (from the tongue and the velum), glottalic ingressive ...

, in which the airstream flows inward through the mouth or nose.

Pulmonic egressive

Pulmonic In phonetics, the airstream mechanism is the method by which airflow is created in the vocal tract. Along with phonation and articulation, it is one of three main components of speech production. The airstream mechanism is mandatory for sound ...

egressive sounds are those in which the air stream is created by the

rib In vertebrate anatomy, ribs ( la, costae) are the long curved bones which form the rib cage, part of the axial skeleton. In most tetrapods, ribs surround the chest, enabling the lungs to expand and thus facilitate breathing by expanding the ches ...

s, and

diaphragm Diaphragm may refer to: Anatomy * Thoracic diaphragm, a thin sheet of muscle between the thorax and the abdomen * Pelvic diaphragm or pelvic floor, a pelvic structure * Urogenital diaphragm or triangular ligament, a pelvic structure Other * Diap ...

. The majority of sounds in most languages, such as

vowel A vowel is a syllabic speech sound pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract. Vowels are one of the two principal classes of speech sounds, the other being the consonant. Vowels vary in quality, in loudness and also in quantity (len ...

s, are both pulmonic and egressive. Pulmonic egressive sounds are found in all spoken languages.

Glottalic egressive

Glottalic egressive sounds are known as

ejective In phonetics, ejective consonants are usually voiceless consonants that are pronounced with a glottalic egressive airstream. In the phonology of a particular language, ejectives may contrast with aspirated, voiced and tenuis consonants. Some ...

Lingual egressive

The lingual egressive, also known as velaric egressive, involves a double closure similar to that of the lingual ingressive sounds known as clicks, but with airflow in the opposite direction. With the

velum Velum may refer to: Human anatomy * Superior medullary velum, anterior medullary velum or valve of Vieussens, white matter, in the brain, which stretches between the superior cerebellar peduncles ** Frenulum of superior medullary velum, a slightl ...

closed, the speaker forces air out of the mouth using either the tongue or cheeks, as in the French expression of dismissal. While not known to be used for normal vocabulary in any human language, apart from the extinct Australian ritual language Damin, a variation of this airstream mechanism is known to musicians as part of

circular breathing Circular breathing is a technique used by players of some wind instruments to produce a continuous tone without interruption. It is accomplished by breathing through the nose while simultaneously pushing air through the mouth using air stored ...

References

*{{SOWL Phonetics Consonants by airstream

Pulmonic egressive

Glottalic egressive

Lingual egressive

See also

References