A voiceless glottal consonant is a speech sound produced without vocal cord vibration ( voiceless ) and by obstructing airflow at the glottis ( the space between the vocal cords ) ( glottal ) . The most common and, in English, the only glottal consonant is the sound represented by the symbol /h/.
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Here’s a breakdown:
Voiceless: This means that when you produce the sound, your vocal cords are not vibrating. You can check this by placing your hand on your throat. If you don’t feel a vibration when making the sound, it’s voiceless. For example, try saying “sssss” ( voiceless ) versus “zzzzz” ( voiced ) .
Glottal: This refers to the place of articulation, which is the glottis. The glottis is the opening between the vocal folds in your larynx ( voice box ) . To make a glottal sound, you narrow or close the glottis.
The sound /h/:
The /h/ sound is typically described as a voiceless glottal fricative.
Fricative: This means that air is forced through a narrow passage, creating audible friction. In the case of /h/, the friction is created as air passes through the constricted glottis.
Examples in English:
You can find the /h/ sound at the beginning of words:
hat
hello
home
how
huge
It can also appear in the middle of words, often when it follows a vowel and precedes another vowel, or in compounds:
ahead
bahumbug ( in this case, it’s part of a compound phrase, but the sound is still glottal )
Key characteristics of /h/:
It’s a relatively weak sound compared to many other consonants.
It’s often described as a “breathy” sound.
Its acoustic properties can vary depending on the vowel that follows it.
In summary, a voiceless glottal consonant is a sound like the English /h/, made by pushing air through an open but slightly constricted glottis without vibrating the vocal cords.
