ABSTRACT
This study is the fltSt comprehensive, large-scale survey of the phonological behavior of ejectives, based on the grammars of over 150 languages. Although much recent work has been done on the patterns of inventories of ejectives (e.g. Maddieson 1984), little has been done on phonological rules involving ejectives. This study is thus a fltSt step in Keating's (1988) call to conduct surveys of groups of segments-in this case, ejectives-to more fUDdy establish natural classes on which distinctive feature theory is based. Ejectives are characterized by the feature [constricted glottis], and while this survey concentrated on ejectives themselves, it also noted the interaction of other sounds which share this feature (e.g. implosives and glottalized sonorants), as well as sounds which shared the structural organization of the Laryngeal node (e.g. voiced and voiceless stops).
