Voiceless epiglottal affricate

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.

Voiceless epiglottal affricate
ʡʜ
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Features

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 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.

Occurrence

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

Notes

  1. Mithun (2001), p. 18.

References

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