glottal catch
- noun
- /ˈɡlɒtəl kætʃ/
- Specialized
:
cierre glotal
- The word 'uh-oh' features a distinct glottal catch.
Examples
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Some English accents use a glottal catch instead of the 't' sound in 'bottle'.
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The glottal catch can be heard at the beginning of the word 'apple' in some dialects.
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Phonetics classes often teach students how to articulate a glottal catch correctly.
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Some dialects in England use a glottal catch before vowels.
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In certain dialects, speakers often replace the 't' in 'football' with a glottal catch.
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The sound produced by a glottal catch can create a smooth transition into a vowel sound.
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When learning about phonetics, identifying a glottal catch can greatly improve pronunciation skills.
Synonyms
1
8.2
A sound you make by briefly stopping and releasing air at your voice box, like the break in 'uh-oh'
A very short sound made by briefly closing and opening the voice box before a vowel
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun is transparently compositional: 'glottal' specifies location (the glottis) and 'catch' denotes a small choke or break in the voice, so together they denote a choke/stop produced at the glottis. This adjective+noun assembly follows normal English naming patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the intended phonetic phenomenon.
Etymology
Glottal catch comes from the idea of the voice briefly 'catching' in the throat: speakers close the glottal area, the vocal cords, and then open them to make a sudden short sound, so the word catch shows that quick stop. That's why glottal catch names the sharp throat sound some accents use before a vowel or instead of the 't' sound.