glottaler

Glottaler is a term used in phonetics and linguistics to refer to sounds and processes that involve the glottis, the opening between the vocal folds in the larynx. The glottis is the main articulatory place for glottal sounds, which are produced with the vocal folds in contact or in a narrow opening. The most prominent glottal sound is the glottal stop, transcribed as [ʔ], created by a momentary complete closure of the vocal folds followed by a release. Glottal stops can function as phonemes in some languages or appear as allophones of other consonants in various dialects, including certain English varieties.

Another key glottal sound is the glottal fricative, most commonly the voiceless [h], produced by turbulent airflow through an open glottis. Some analyses also recognize a voiced glottal fricative [ɦ], produced with voicing through the glottal opening. Glottalization can also affect vowels, where vowels near a glottal stop are produced with creaky voice or shortened timing, and may be described as a glottalized or laryngealized vowel.

In language description, glottaler phenomena are widespread and cross-linguistic in occurrence. In English, for example, final stops such as /t/ can be realized as a glottal stop in some dialects and contexts, a process known as glottalization. In other languages, glottal stops may be phonemic or morphologically contrastive, and the hamza in Arabic often marks a glottal stop at word onset or between vowels. The term glottaler thus broadly encompasses the range of sounds and processes linked to the glottis in speech.