glottal plosive
- noun
- /ˈɡlɒtəl ˈpləʊsɪv/
- Specialized
:
plosiva glotal
- When teaching pronunciation, the instructor highlighted the use of the glottal plosive in English.
Examples
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The glottal plosive often occurs at the beginning of words that start with a vowel in some dialects.
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Some languages use the glottal plosive as a distinct consonant between vowels.
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The glottal plosive is important in phonetics.
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A glottal plosive occurs in certain dialects.
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In some dialects, speakers use a glottal plosive at the start of words like 'apple'.
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The glottal plosive can change the meaning of a word by differentiating between vowel sounds.
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Language learners often struggle with the glottal plosive when it appears in the middle of speech.
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 quick sound made by briefly closing and opening the vocal cords before a vowel
Surface Forms
Morphology
The term combines 'glottal' (pertaining to the glottis) with 'plosive' (a stop consonant), so its meaning — a stop consonant produced at the glottis — is directly derivable from the constituents. Although technical, the composition is transparent and parallels terminology in other languages, so a learner who knows both words can infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Glottal plosive comes from the image of the voice box making a small 'pop'. Glottal points to the voice box and plosive means a sudden burst or 'stop consonant', so the name describes the quick closing and release of the vocal cords that makes an abrupt start of a vowel.