Ejectives

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /iˈd͡ʒɛktɪvz/

Definitions

1. A type of consonantal sound produced with a simultaneous release of air pressure, typically found in certain languages
2. Phonetic elements characterized by a burst of air created by a closure in the vocal tract, often related to specific linguistic traditions
3. Sounds that are articulated with a glottalic egressive airflow, commonly occurring in the phonology of some indigenous languages

Etymology: "Ejectives" is the plural of "ejective", a term for a family of consonants pronounced with a burst of air produced by closing the glottis while the tongue or lips make a closure further up the throat or mouth. The name is built from "eject", which comes from Latin "ejicere", "to throw out", and the suffix "-ive", which passed into English through Old French from Latin "-ivus", meaning "tending to" or "having the nature of". So an ejective is, quite literally, a sound that is thrown out. The term describes what the sound does rather than where it is made. The air is pushed outward in a sharp puff, a mechanism that gives these consonants their distinctive popping quality. Many languages of the Caucasus, the Americas and Africa use them, and English speakers meet them most often in the Caucasian language Georgian, where words such as the one for "stop" are built from several of them in a row.