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Voiceless epiglottal affricate

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Voiceless epiglottal affricate
ʡʜ
Audio sample

The voiceless epiglottal affricate ([ʡ͡ʜ] in IPA) is a rare affricate consonant that is initiated as an epiglottal stop [ʡ] and released as a voiceless epiglottal fricative [ʜ]. It has not been reported to occur phonemically in any language.

Features

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Features of the voiceless epiglottal affricate:

  • Its manner of articulation is affricate, which means it is produced by first stopping the airflow entirely, then allowing air flow through a constricted channel at the place of articulation, causing turbulence.
  • Its place of articulation is epiglottal, which means it is articulated with the aryepiglottic folds against the epiglottis.
  • Its phonation is voiceless, which means it is produced without vibrations of the vocal cords. In some languages the vocal cords are actively separated, so it is always voiceless; in others the cords are lax, so that it may take on the voicing of adjacent sounds.
  • It is an oral consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth only.
  • It is a central consonant, which means it is produced by directing the airstream along the center of the tongue, rather than to the sides.
  • Its airstream mechanism is pulmonic, which means it is articulated by pushing air solely with the intercostal muscles and abdominal muscles, as in most sounds.

Occurrence

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Language Word IPA Meaning Notes
Haida Hydaburg dialect[1] [example needed] May be a stop [ʡ] or voiced [ʡ͡ʢ] instead.[1]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Mithun (2001), p. 18.

References

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  • Mithun, Marianne (2001). The Languages of Native North America. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 052129875X.