Acoustic characteristics of ejectives in Ingush

The purpose of the paper is to investigate acoustic characteristics which distinguish ejectives from pulmonic stops in Ingush (a Northeast Caucasian language), and to compare Ingush ejectives to those of other languages. The articulation of ejectives is relatively well understood, but their acoustic effects are less clear. Working with a native speaker of Ingush, ejectives and pulmonic voiceless stops were compared for VOT, closure duration, and post-burst power; and pitch, amplitude, and voice quality of the following vowel. Ingush results are compared to published descriptions of ejectives in several other languages. Ingush ejectives do not have all the same acoustic features as any other language studied. The characteristics of ejectives vary with each language, and do not pattern together to form just two types of ejectives, as has been claimed based on binary comparisons