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Nonpulmonic Consonants

Whereas most consonants in natural language are produced on a pulmonic egressive airstream, there are nonetheless some classes of consonants that are produced using other airstreams. All of these classes are also attested in speech sound disorders even from speakers of languages where nonpulmonic consonants are not found as target sounds. This entry provides an overview of the main classes of nonpulmonic sounds and their presence in disordered speech.

Classes of Nonpulmonic Sounds

There are three main classes of nonpulmonic sounds in natural language: ejectives, implosives, and clicks. These are produced using two different initiators: the glottalic and the velaric. The glottalic initiator uses the upward or downward movement of the larynx with a closed or partially closed glottis to alter the sub- or supraglottal air pressure, ...

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