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Glite Dictionary
ejective consonant

ejective consonant

9.9
A consonant sound made by closing the throat and then releasing air quickly
  • noun
  • /ɪˈdʒɛk.tɪv ˈkɒn.sənt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : consonante ejectiva
  • The Hausa word for 'milk' begins with an ejective consonant not found in English.

Examples

  • In some Caucasian languages, every stop can be pronounced as an ejective consonant.

  • Linguists study how ejective consonants affect syllable structure and pronunciation.

  • The ejective consonant is a unique sound in some languages.

  • In Hausa, the ejective consonant system is quite complex.

  • The Hausa word for 'milk' begins with an ejective consonant that is not present in English.

  • Linguists study how ejective consonants influence the pronunciation patterns in various languages.

  • In some Caucasian languages, every stop can be articulated as an ejective consonant.

Synonyms

ejective
vsejective consonant
  • Specialized
9.9

A consonant sound made by closing the throat and then pushing the air out suddenly

is the fuller noun form that adds an example language such as Hausa

Surface Forms

ejective consonant singular
ejective consonants plural

Morphology

ejective + consonant

The phrase is a straightforward adjective+noun composition: 'ejective' names the manner of articulation (glottal release) and 'consonant' names the sound class, so the compound meaning is directly derivable from its parts. Although technical, this follows standard compositional morphology and would be understandable to a B1 learner who already knows both constituent meanings.

Etymology

Ejective consonant comes from how the sound is made: you close your throat briefly and then push the air out, making a quick 'pop' like a small cough. That's why ejective describes this type of consonant — a sharp, 'popping' sound found in some languages but not usually in English.