glottalized

Glottalized is a term used in linguistics to describe speech sounds produced with a constricted or closed glottis, the opening between the vocal folds. It encompasses both a physical articulation, such as a glottal stop, and a phonation style in which the glottis remains narrowed during voice production.

Glottal stops are a common manifestation of glottalization. They involve a complete closure of the vocal folds that momentarily blocks voicing, frequently appearing in place of vowels or consonants in certain positions, such as syllable ends or word boundaries. In some languages the glottal stop is phonemic; in others it is an allophonic realization.

Glottalized phonation refers to a voice quality produced with a constricted glottis, often described as creaky voice or laryngealized speech. This can cooccur with or replace modal voice and typically lowers the pitch and adds a rough texture. Some languages feature glottalized vowels or consonants as phonemic contrasts or allophonic variants.

Transcription and analysis commonly mark glottalization with diacritics for creaky voice on vowels, or by citing a glottal stop [ʔ] for consonantal involvement. The concept is distinct from aspiration or plain voicing, though glottalization can interact with those features in complex ways depending on language and context.

See also: creaky voice, glottal stop, laryngealization, phonation.