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not attested, nor is it attested in the other tokens examined. Thus, Mono labial-velar stops
cannot be considered implosive based on this acoustic property.
The popping sound occasionally heard in Mono labial-velar stops, then, is likely
attributable to velaric suction. Mono labial-velars appear to pattern like the majority of
labial-velars in Ladefoged’s study, that is, they have both pulmonic egressive and velaric
ingressive airstreams, but no glottalic ingressive airstream.
The second issue concerning labial-velar stops is whether the two articulations are
produced simultaneously, or whether they are staggered. My auditory impressions of the
sound in Mono indicate that the velar closure begins prior to the labial closure, and that
the velar release occurs prior to the labial release. Maddieson (1993, cited in Ladefoged
& Maddieson 1996) provides evidence for this from electromagnetic articulography for
Ewe. Connell (1994) points out that several researchers have provided acoustic evidence
for this staggering by showing that the formant transitions at the release of the labial-
velars correspond to those at the release of labial stops. Specifically, the values of F1, F2,
and F3 all rise on release. Figures 8.23, 8.24, and 8.25 show spectrograms of the words
=(C>=( =(C>=( ‘dugout canoe’, =>=( =>=( ‘father’, and >=C=( >=C=( ‘cheek’, respectively. Note that the formant
transitions at the release of the labial-velar and labial stops all rise, whereas F2 of the
velar stop has a noticeable drop in value after release. One significant difference between
the labial-velar and labial stops is that the F2 transition of the labial-velar stop (Figure
8.23) shows a rise from a value of 1000 Hz to 1400 Hz in about 23 ms, whereas the F2
transition for the labial stop (Figure 8.24) appears to have an abrupt transition.
Connell (1994) claims that the labial-velar F2 transition is steeper and more
prominent than the labial F2 transition. While I could not verify this claim, we can see
from comparing Figures 8.23 and 8.24 that the F2 transition plays a prominent role in
distinguishing the two sounds.
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