pharyngeal consonant
- noun
- /ˈfɛrɪnˌdʒil ˈkɒnsənt/
- Specialized
:
consonante faríngea
- In some dialects of Arabic, speakers use pharyngeal consonants that create a distinctive sound not found in English.
Examples
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The pronunciation of pharyngeal consonants can be challenging for learners of languages that include them.
-
To give one example of the effect that has on sound systems, only about three or four of the elders I work with pronounce clear pharyngeal consonants.
Academic text (2007) -
During the speech therapy session, we focused on producing accurate pharyngeal consonants to improve articulation.
Synonyms
1
9.8
A consonant sound made by pressing the tongue root against the back of the throat
How Back
- Specialized
2
8.6
- Specialized
- Specialized
1
8.7
- Specialized
- Specialized
- Specialized
- Specialized
Surface Forms
Morphology
The term is a direct composition: 'pharyngeal' (relating to the pharynx) modifies 'consonant' to indicate a consonant produced in the pharyngeal region. This is a literal, compositional pattern common in linguistic terminology (and cross-linguistically), so a learner who knows both constituents can derive the meaning.
Etymology
Pharyngeal consonant is a name for a speech sound made by pressing the back of the throat when you speak. The word pharyngeal points to the throat and consonant means a speech sound, so the name means 'a consonant made in the throat'.