{"id":608,"date":"2026-06-16T16:02:29","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T20:02:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/atomsofsound.org\/?p=608"},"modified":"2026-06-16T16:02:29","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T20:02:29","slug":"glottal-constriction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atomsofsound.org\/?p=608","title":{"rendered":"glottal constriction"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

[glottal constriction]<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n

Counterpart<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

[<\/strong>non glottal constriction]<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

Feature System<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

SPE Features<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Definition<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The feature [glottal constriction] refers to phones produced by narrowing the glottal opening beyond its neutral position.\u00a0 This accounts for ejectives, implosives, and some clicks.\u00a0 Ladefoged (1964) argued that laryngealized voice, or creaky vocal quality, involved glottal constriction, too.\u00a0 Frequently, they involve total or near-total closure, although not all [glottal constrictions] do.\u00a0 They generally also involve secondary closures (e.g., in the oral cavity).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Purpose<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The feature [glottal constrictions] helps to distinguish features made with marked narrowing of the glottal passage versus without such narrowing.\u00a0 Thompson and Thompson (1985:136) found that, in Shuswap, reduplicated prefixes dissimilated to become [-ejective].\u00a0 For example, t\u2019<\/em><\/strong>e.x-t <\/em>\u2018tall\u2019, reduplicates to t<\/em><\/strong>e-t<\/strong>\u00e9-t\u2019x\u0323t <\/em>\u2018taller\u2019.\u00a0 To formalize this rule, it can be written as [+ejective\u200b\u200b]\u2192[\u2212ejective\u200b]\/_\u03c3[+ejective], although the original source does not employ features, so this is extrapolated from their data.\u00a0 Because ejection is a distinctive feature produced through glottal constriction, this, more broadly, shows glottalic dissimilation. In more recent theories, this is an example of the emergence of the unmarked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

History<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Jakobsonian feature used for ejectives was [checked], which referred to constriction or closure of the glottis. In SPE<\/em>, the replacement feature used was [glottal constriction] (pp. 315-316, 327-329), though no rules invoked this feature in Chomsky & Halle\u2019s examples, and that feature name was not embraced by phonologists (Sommerstein 1977). Lisker & Abramson (1971) offer a detailed critique of the SPE<\/em> laryngeal features.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The feature [constricted glottis] was defined in Halle & Stevens (1971:202) as the \u201cadduction of the arytenoid cartileges relative to the position for normal voicing\u201d. This feature, along with [spread glottis], [stiff vocal folds] and [slack vocal folds], was a dramatic revision to the SPE <\/em>laryngeal features. The feature [constricted glottis] was later conceived as a privative feature and continues to be used robustly (with several different names).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

References<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Chomsky, Noam, and Morris Halle. 1968. The sound pattern of English<\/em>. New York: Harper and Row.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Halle, M., and K. Stevens. 1971. A note on laryngeal features. MIT Research Laboratory in Electronics. Quarterly Progress Report, <\/em>101.198-213<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ladefoged, Peter. 1990.\u00a0 Some proposals concerning glottal consonants. Journal of the International Phonetic Association<\/em> 20(2): 24\u201325. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/S0025100300004217<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lisker, Leigh, and Arthur S. Abramson. 1971. Distinctive features and laryngeal control. Language<\/em> 47(4).767-785.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sommerstein, Alan H. 1977. Modern phonology<\/em>. London: Edward Arnold. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thompson, Laurence C. and M. Terry Thompson. 1985. A Grassman’s Law for Salish. For Gordon H. Fairbanks<\/em>, ed. by V.Z. Ascon and R.L.Leed. Oceanic Linguistics Special Publication <\/em>No. 20.134-147. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further Reading<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Gordeeva, Olga B., and James M. Scobbie. A phonetically versatile contrast: Pulmonic and glottalic voicelessness in Scottish English obstruents and voice quality.\u201d Journal of the International Phonetic Association<\/em> 43(3).249\u201371. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/S0025100313000200.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Author<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Allon Boettcher<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[glottal constriction] Counterpart [non glottal constriction] Feature System SPE Features Definition The feature [glottal constriction] refers to phones produced by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"disabled","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"disabled","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/atomsofsound.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/608","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/atomsofsound.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/atomsofsound.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atomsofsound.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atomsofsound.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=608"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/atomsofsound.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/608\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":609,"href":"https:\/\/atomsofsound.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/608\/revisions\/609"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/atomsofsound.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=608"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atomsofsound.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=608"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/atomsofsound.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}