ABSTRACT
The unusual segments which occur in the Northwest Caucasian (NWC) languages surely among the most bizarre are the palatalized and pharyngealized uvulars which occur in Ubykh, Abaza, and Bzyb and Ashkharwa Abkhaz. From the present study, see that the acoustic effects of pharyngealization are complex. It can be seen that this system also cannot characterize the oppositions found between the palatalized and pharyngealized uvulars. The development of pharyngealized uvulars from pharyngeals is probably unlikely unless we have the distinct phenomenon of vowel coloring to enhance the perception of backness associated with pharyngeals. Chomsky-Halle analysis also predicts that a uvular which is pharyngealized will be a pharyngeal. Again Bzyb contradicts this by opposing plain uvulars, pharyngealized uvulars, and pharyngeals. Ubykh, while lacking plain pharyngeals, does not realize its pharyngealized uvulars as pharyngeals. In fact loan words from the Circassian languages, which originally had pharyngeals, are borrowed into Ubykh with plain uvular spirants.
