glottali

Glottali is a term used in linguistics to refer to phenomena related to the glottis, the opening between the vocal folds in the larynx. In some grammars and phonology literature, glottali is used to group glottal articulations such as glottal stops, glottalized vowels and consonants, and glottal fricatives. It is not a universally standardized label, but it appears in discussions of phonation and consonant inventories across languages.

The glottis plays a central role in several articulatory events. A glottal stop occurs when the vocal folds come together completely to produce a brief closure in the airstream, often transcribed as [ʔ]. Glottalization refers to partial closure or a change in phonation on a segment, which can give rise to creaky voice or a more constricted glottal setting on vowels or consonants. Glottal fricatives, including a voiceless glottal fricative [h], are produced with a narrow glottal opening that generates frication rather than a complete closure.

In language data, glottali phenomena can interact with syllable structure, stress, and voicing distinctions. Transcription commonly uses the IPA symbols [ʔ] for glottal stops and [h] or other diacritic-marked forms for glottalized or creaky-voiced segments. Diacritics may be added to indicate glottalization or creaky voice on vowels or consonants.

See also: glottis, glottal stop, glottalization, creaky voice, voiceless glottal fricative.