Pulmonic consonant explained

pronounced as /notice/A pulmonic consonant is a consonant produced by air pressure from the lungs, as opposed to ejective, implosive and click consonants.

Most languages have only pulmonic consonants. Ian Maddieson, in his survey of 566 languages,^{[1] [2]} found that only 152 had ejectives, implosives, or clicks (or two or three of these types) – that is, 73% of the world's extant languages have only pulmonic consonants. See glottalic consonants and click consonants for more information on the distribution of nonpulmonic consonants.

Chart

pronounced as /pulmonic consonants/

See also

• Ejective consonant
• Implosive consonant
• Click consonant
• Airstream mechanism

References

pronounced as /navigation/

Notes and References

1. Ian Maddieson (2008) "Glottalic Consonants". In: Martin Haspelmath & Matthew S. Dryer & David Gil & Bernard Comrie (eds.) The World Atlas of Language Structures Online. Munich: Max Planck Digital Library, chapter 7. Available online at http://wals.info/feature/7. Accessed on 18 January 2011
2. Ian Maddieson (2008) "Presence of Uncommon Consonants". In: Martin Haspelmath & Matthew S. Dryer & David Gil & Bernard Comrie (eds.) The World Atlas of Language Structures Online. Munich: Max Planck Digital Library, chapter 19. Available online at http://wals.info/feature/19. Accessed on 18 January 2011