The Ancestral Consonant

2009 September 7
by Brent

Introduction

At first glance, the Ancestral consonant is breathtakingly complex. On closer inspection, however, I believe the Ancestral speaker understood it to consist of ten places and ten manners of articulation, the intersection of which was the sound (or, more properly, the absence of sound) we know as the glottal stop.

Consonant Chart (In Transcription)

s
f
h
x
q
p b t d c ’ j y k w g
v
z
r
l
n

Places Of Articulation
My tentative reconstruction of the places of articulation, from left to right above, are as follows:

  • Bilabial
  • Linguo-Labial
  • Interdental
  • Alveolar
  • Retroflex
  • Expressive
  • Palato-Alveolar
  • Palato-Velar
  • Velar
  • Labio-Velar
  • Uvular

The Bilabial series is made with both lips, as in the English word /pop/ “pop”.

The Linguo-Labial series is made by placing the tip of the tongue against the upper lip, as in the Tangoa word /tete/ “butterfly”. It is an unusual sound in today’s world, but it is not difficult to pronounce.

The Interdental series is made by placing the tip of the tongue between the teeth.

The Alveolar series is made by placing the tip of the tongue behind the teeth, as in the English word /tot/ “tot”.

The Palato-Velar and Labio-Velar series will be instantly familiar to anyone acquainted with the classic reconstruction of the Proto-Indo-European sound system, but

The Expressive (my term) series puzzled me for a very long time. I now believe that the Expressive series does not correspond to any definable place of articulation; instead, it consists of the most marked (i.e. acoustically distinct) representative of each permissible manner of articulation — a “super-series”, if you will. My work on understanding this aspect of the Ancestral consonant continues.

Manners of Articulation

My tentative reconstruction of the manners of articulation, from top to bottom above, is as follows:

  • Spirant
  • Fricative
  • Aspirate
  • Explosive | Egressive
  • Laryngeal
  • Plosive
  • Murmur
  • Implosive | Ingressive
  • Rhotic
  • Lateral
  • Nasal

I would note in passing that the presence of clicked consonants will add fuel to the fire of those who believe the clicks of Khoisan are ancient.

Consonant Cluster Chart 1 (In Transcription)

sp sb st sd sc s sj sy sk sw sg
fp fb ft fd fc f fj fy fk fw fg
hp hb ht hd hc h hj hy hk hw hg
xp xb xt xd xc x xj xy xk xw xg
qp qb qt qd qc q qj qy qk qw qg
p b t d c ’ j y k w g
vp vb vt vd vc v vj vy vk vw vg
zp zb zt zd zc z zj zy zk zw zg
rp rb rt rd rc r rj ry rk rw rg
lp lb lt ld lc l lj ly lk lw lg
np nb nt nd nc n nj ny nk nw ng

Consonant Cluster Chart 2 (In Transcription)

ps bs ts ds cs s js ys ks ws gs
pf bf tf df cf f jf yf kf wf gf
ph bh th dh ch h jh yh kh wh gh
px bx tx dx cx x jx yx kx wx gx
pq bq tq dq cq q jq yq kq wq gq
p b t d c ’ j y k w g
pv bv tv dv cv v jv yv kv wv gv
pz bz tz dz cz z jz yz kz wz gz
pr br tr dr cr r jr yr kr wr gr
pl bl tl dl cl l jl yl kl wl gl
pn bn tn dn cn n jn yn kn wn gn

from → Past, Phonology

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