glottal plosive
Noun: A speech sound produced by the sudden release of air after a complete closure of the vocal cords (glottis). It is a type of stop consonant, often perceived as a brief catch or break in the voice, and serves as the phonetic onset for vowels in many languages when they begin a word or stressed syllable.
The term is used in phonetics and linguistics to describe a specific consonant sound. It is not typically used in everyday conversation but in academic or technical discussions about speech sounds. * In English, the glottal plosive (represented by the symbol [ʔ]) can be heard in the separation between the two parts of the exclamation "uh-oh." * In some dialects of English, it often replaces the /t/ sound in words like "button" [ˈbʌʔn̩] or "water."
- Phonetic Transcription: In the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), the glottal plosive is transcribed as [ʔ].
- Linguistic Function: In many languages, including Arabic and German, the glottal plosive is a distinct phoneme that can change the meaning of a word. In English, it is usually an allophone (a variant of another sound, like /t/) rather than a unique phoneme.
- Glottal Stop: This is the most common synonym for "glottal plosive." The terms are used interchangeably in linguistics.
- Glottal Catch: A less technical term with the same meaning.
- Glottal stop
- Glottal catch
- Stop Consonant (Plosive): The broader category of sounds to which the glottal plosive belongs, produced by completely blocking the airflow and then releasing it.
- Glottis: The part of the larynx consisting of the vocal cords and the opening between them, where this sound is produced.
- a stop consonant articulated by releasing pressure at the glottis; as in the sudden onset of a vowel