Wood. Cinefluorographic Study of Uvular Consonants A CINEFLUOROGRAPHIC STUDY OF UVULAR CONSONANTS IN SWEDISH AND IN WEST GREENLANDIC INUIT

The articulation of uvular consonants is studied with particular reference to quantal aspects of speech production. Data from X-ray motion films are presented. Two speakers of Southern Swedish give examples of [{], and one speaker of West Greenlandic Inuit gives examples of [{] and [q]. The traditional view that uvular consonants are produced by articulating the dorsum against the uvula ought not to work, owing to the presence of free air passages either side of the uvula. The formant transitions to vowels adjacent to these consonants suggest instead that the place of articulation is in the upper pharynx, at the same place as is constricted for [o]-like vowels. The X-ray films confirm that these three subjects constricted the upper pharynx for these consonants