Pulmonic Ingressive Speech in Icelandic

Pulmonic ingressive speech – utterances spoken on the in-breath – is a common feature of many languages including Icelandic. This paper presents findings from a survey-based study on the use of ingressive speech in Icelandic. The research was conducted in Iceland and Icelandic-speaking communities in North America. The study confirms our first hypothesis—that ingressive speech in Icelandic is used primarily by women. Our second hypothesis – that it is on the wane – was confirmed by the North American respondents, but results from Iceland were mixed. Our third hypothesis – that ingressive speech is non-existent in North American Icelandic was not confirmed. The article concludes with a comparison of our findings with scholarship on ingressive speech in the North Atlantic/Baltic Zone.