THE GLOTTAL STOP 1- Definition: A glottal stop is a plosive made at the glottis.

It is formed by brief closure of the vocal folds, behind which the air coming from the lungs is compressed and then released by sudden separation of the folds. That is to say, a glottal stop occurs when the vocal folds are held tightly together and then separated suddenly. Its chief auditory characteristic is a brief period of silence. The glottal stop can be perceived as the sudden cessation of the preceding sound or the sudden onset of the following sound. 2Use a- Reinforcement of vowels: to reinforce or emphasise vowels: in interjections: to avoid the use of the linking /r/ or the intrusive /r/ b- Reinforcement of syllable-final /p, t, k/ and /t /
The closing and release of // take place just before the oral closure of the plosive or affricate. Phonetically, they are heard in a sequence.

Examples

---------------------------------------------

Necessary conditions: vowel nasal lateral

// + /p, t, k/ + consonant or pause ________________________________________ // + /t / + any sound or pause

c- Replacement of syllable-final /p, t, k/ Necessary conditions: /p/ // /k/ // + homorganic1 sound ___________________________________ /t/ // + any consonant * (or pause)

---------------------------------------------

vowel nasal + lateral

* To replace /t/ when followed by /h/ by syllabic /n/ or /l/ was until recently stigmatized as non RP but it is now acceptable in London regional RP.

3- Other points to take into consideration: // is not a phoneme in RP but an allophone in free variation, i.e. you can choose whether to use it or not. If unsure, it is better to stick to the standard, more conservative pronunciation. Being a fortis, // shortens the preceding vowel (pre-fortis clippling) // does not interfere with assimiliation // is becoming more widely used within RP, especially among young RP speakers. In some dialects of English // is also used in intervocalic position as in better or water ACTIVITIES: 1. Recognition. Circle the phrase you hear:
1

homorganic: having the same place of articulation

a- star button / start button b- one day left / one date left c- my mind / might mind d- ten poles / tent poles e- wide shoes / white shoes

2. Is glottaling possible in the following cases? Why? Why not? a- first class b- salt solution c- hit single d- hit album e- most important

3. Write the transcription for the following utterances using glottaling whenever possible. a- Most people do, but youd better not. b- I looked up and down but I couldnt see it. c- That sounds quite interesting. d- But to my utter amazement, he did! e- I had parked my car in a different place that morning. f- But I have a right to a little part.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Finch, D.R. & Ortiz Lira H. (1982) A Course in English Phonetics for Spanish Speakers. London. Heinemann Educational Books Garcia Lecumberri, M.L. & Maidment, J.A (2000) English Transcription Course. New York. OUP Gimson, A.C. (2001) An Introduction to the Pronunciation of English. Revised by Cruttenden, A. London. OUP Ladefoged, P. ( 1982) A Course in Phonetics. University of California, Los Angeles. HBJ Roach, P. (1993) English Phonetics and Phonology. A Practical Course. University of Leeds. CUP