# Glottal Stop



## Feña

If someone knows when "The Glottal Stop" must be used... 
I have listened if you use it to much your english will be of 
a low class level... but in the  RP accent  it is used... but 
not that much because of that.... so... when to use it???

thanks.


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## sdgraham

Feña said:


> If someone knows when "The Glottal Stop" must be used...
> I have listened if you use it to much your english will be of
> a low class level... but in the  RP accent  it is used... but
> not that much because of that.... so... when to use it???
> 
> thanks.



Apparently, this is a BE subject and hopefully some of our knowledgeable folks from the UK will respond.


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## sound shift

Use of a glottal stop, or something similar, is not always regarded as low-class or low-prestige. A sound approaching a glottal stop is widely used for the "T" in "Britain", for example - at least in some areas of the UK. I've noticed that the sound I make for the "D" in "pardon" is a kind of glottal stop and therefore not the same as the sound I make for a word-initial "D" - such as in "double". As to my class - that's for others to decide.

There is no requirement to use the glottal stop in English, so non-native speakers should not concern themselves with it, in my opinion.


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## Feña

But... may I use a glotal stop always in the place of an "intrucive r" ?.... when to use the "intrucive r" and when to use the glottal stop?... por example I say: whatever with glottal stop... but whererever sounds better with "intrucive r"

when to usea one or the other? i'm really confused =S


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## ayupshiplad

As far as I'm aware, the glottal stop is most assosciated with the Glaswegian (of Glasgow) accent, which can be extremely hard even for natives (though not normally other Scots) to understand, so for this reason, I would not try to incorporate it into your own speech!


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## sound shift

Feña,

Are you learning American English (AE) or British English (BE)?


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## Feña

I'm learning British English... RP accent.... why?


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## Matching Mole

Confusingly, the so called "intrusive r" is used to smooth over a stop between words in situations like "America_is": "Americaris a great place to visit", yet a stop is also used to smooth over speech by replacing "awkward" t's (of course there are many other cases in which it occurs). This, as you probably know, is a notable feature of certain regional forms in the UK, particularly Cockney, although it occurs throughout London and in other regions. A "Cockney" speaker is likely to use both intrusive r and glottal stops. They are both methods of streamlining speech.

As to when you should use them, as a non-native speaker, I would not recommend trying. I think this is something you should allow yourself to pick up naturally, particularly if you go and live in an English speaking country, or mix with English speakers.


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## Matching Mole

Feña said:


> I'm learning British English... RP accent.... why?


I expect the reason is that the use of glottal stops varies enormously according to the region, class or speech level.

If you are learning to speak RP, I would say do not use them. Precise English speakers will avoid these methods, as they are the opposite of precise speaking. If you subsequently wish to relax your speaking style I think you will pick them up naturally, as they are actually quite natural, whereas precise speaking is what takes the effort.


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## sdgraham

Feña said:


> I'm learning British English... RP accent.... why?


 
You should be aware that not only are there are many differences not only between British and American English in word usage, spelling and pronunciation, but different accents within each group.

(I lived and worked in London for a year and a half and I never could understand some of my employees from the East End.)

I had never heard of RP pronunciation (Is that an accepted abbreviation on this forum?) until today when I looked it up on the Internet.


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## Feña

I learned at the university that "intrucive r" is a kind of mutation of some sounds like in "but if I go (barif I go)"... what you said could be a "linking r" ...but I'm not sure. I'll study that and I'll tell you... 

and if someone of you knows that  could you tell us? please... 

cheers..


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## Matching Mole

Yes, RP is the accepted abbreviation. The fact is though that you will not hear it often these days, unless you mix with that dwindling part of the population who still speaks it. It was famously the preserve of the BBC announcer, but it has been discouraged (this has been going on for over 30 years) in favour of a style of speaking that is more like that of the average British member of the public. Regional accents have also been promoted for similar reasons.


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## Feña

I "need" to learn about the glottal stop and the intrucive r because that's a content for a test that I'll have next month =S... I'm studing English Pedagogy....


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## Matching Mole

Feña said:


> I learned at the university that "intrucive r" is a kind of mutation of some sounds like in "but if I go (barif I go)"... what you said could be a "linking r" ...but I'm not sure. I'll study that and I'll tell you...
> 
> and if someone of you knows that  could you tell us? please...
> 
> cheers..


Note that it is "intrusive" with an "s"; this might help you if you are searching on the internet. In the case of "burrif", this is a peculiar combination of a "t" being modified to a glottal stop and the stop in turn being smoothed with an "r" in order to elide with the following word. This is quite typical of the Yorkshire dialect that I grew up speaking.


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## Loob

MM's comments about the glottal stop in this thread are both valid and instructive

Do you have any questions that are not covered in previous replies?

Loob


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## Feña

I've got a question... the same... when to use Glottal Stop... there're any rule?...


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## sdgraham

Feña said:


> I've got a question... the same... when to use Glottal Stop... there're any rule?...



The only answer I can provide is: _Whenever you need to do it to produce the pronunciation you are trying to achieve_.

Matching Mole has the best advice, in my opinion, i.e. 





> As to when you should use them as a non-native speaker, I would not recommend trying. I think this is something you should allow yourself to pick up naturally, particularly if you go and live in an English speaking country, or mix with English speakers.


You have had access here to a wide variety of educated, native English speakers who have no idea what the agenda might be of the people whom you are trying to satisfy, or for that matter, the nature of their experiences.


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## KHS

There is actually a glottal stop at the onset of (ie, just as you begin to pronounce) a stressed syllable that begins with a vowel. Mostly, native speakers (NSs) of English who haven't studied phonetics don't realize it's there. 

I became most aware of it when I was trying to pronounce a phrase in Arabic (long since forgotten) which had words that DIDN'T follow this pattern. 

The person I was imitating kept saying, "Say it like it starts with an H." I had to listen to a tape I had made of the two of us any number of times before I heard the *extra* sound I was adding. *Then* I remembered what I had studied about glottal stops.


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## ernest_

ayupshiplad said:


> As far as I'm aware, the glottal stop is most assosciated with the Glaswegian (of Glasgow) accent, which can be extremely hard even for natives (though not normally other Scots) to understand, so for this reason, I would not try to incorporate it into your own speech!



I think glottal stops are common in Edinburgh too 
I recall hearing Irvine Welsh speaking about his book "Trainspotting", which he called "Trainspo'ing", with a glottal stop. Maybe I'm wrong but I get the impression that T-glottalisation is widespread all over the UK, maybe it's not very prestigious though.


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## Loob

If you need information for a test, perhaps this BBC site will help. Or this site.

Loob


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## konungursvia

I would associate the phenomenon mostly with the letter H. The working class of London substitutes the glottal stop for all aspirated aitches, those that should be pronounced, as well as those that are, by virtue of their origin in French, not pronounced (honour, honest etc.) Also all T's are glottalized by this group.

The upper classes only use the glottal stop where French words beginning with H are French and whose initial consonant is not pronounced at all in English.


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## Brioche

Feña said:


> If someone knows when "The Glottal Stop" must be used...
> I have listened if you use it to much your english will be of
> a low class level... but in the RP accent it is used... but
> not that much because of that.... so... when to use it???
> 
> thanks.


 
The glottal stop is not used as a replacement for T in any prestige pronuciations of English.

The glottal stop is sometimes used in prestige forms of English to differenciate between [for example] _a nice cream_ and _an ice-cream._ 

There will be glottal stops before ʔ_an_ and ʔi_ce_.


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## sound shift

Brioche said:


> The glottal stop is not used as a replacement for T in any prestige pronuciations of English.



I don't agree with you, Brioche. In the UK at least, there are people of all classes who pronounce the letter T in two different ways, depending on its position in the word: a conventional T in initial position and a sort of glottal stop if it occurs in the middle of the word. I pronounce the T in "tea" differently from the T in "written".


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## se16teddy

konungursvia said:


> The working class of London substitutes the glottal stop for all aspirated aitches


This isn't true. In cockney (and most other vernaculars in England), where H is written nothing is pronounced. The glottal stop is most often represented in standard spelling by a t, not an h. Hence _In 'ertford , 'ereford and 'ampshire 'urricanes 'ahdly hever 'appen._ http://books.google.com/books?id=YjmZYNgasBAC&pg=PA136&lpg=PA136&dq=%22hertford+hereford+and+hampshire+hurricanes%22&source=web&ots=sGtQT7NXiR&sig=LhafUO69zvWWGvCauB3plB2RlxY


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## Anais Lee

I've seen an American YouTuber encourage the use of a glottal stop in words like "mountain", "certain" and "button". Is this not stagmatimzed at all in AE? How about in BE these days? For those BE speakers who use a glottal stop when /t/ is followed by a syllabic /n/ (e.g. mountain), do they tend to use it between vowels as well (e.g. water)?


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## natkretep

I have certainly heard this use by Americans in prestigious contexts, and my impression is that it isn't stigmatised in AmE, but let's wait for confirmation from AmE speakers.

I think BrE speakers who use glottal stops in this context would also use it between vowels too.

I use glottal stops before the 'ch' sound coming at the end of a syllable too (as in _preach_), and I don't think this is stigmatised.


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## a little edgy

Yes, we use a glottal stop in AE in those words, although it doesn't sound exactly like the BE glottal stop in a word like "butter" (as pronounced by BE speakers who use the glottal stop). In American English, it's not a matter of accent or social class. It's how the word is normally pronounced in standard AE. To say the word "button" with a full "t" sound would be over-pronunciation.


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## Anais Lee

a little edgy said:


> Yes, we use a glottal stop in AE in those words, although it doesn't sound exactly like the BE glottal stop in a word like "butter" (as pronounced by BE speakers who use the glottal stop). In American English, it's not a matter of accent or social class. It's how the word is normally pronounced in standard AE. To say the word "button" with a full "t" sound would be over-pronunciation.



Is it possible for you to describe how the American glottal stop differs? (I know it's difficult but it sounds interesting.) Is it possible to use a normal /t/ (instead of a glottal stop) when it's followed by a syllabic/n/?

Is it common to use a glottal stop at the end of words in AE? I've heard it's acceptable even in RP these days.


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## Anais Lee

natkretep said:


> I use glottal stops before the 'ch' sound coming at the end of a syllable too (as in _preach_), and I don't think this is stigmatised.



I've never noticed this one. Thanks for the info!


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## Forero

The only places I know a glottal stop is always used is in the expressions "uh-oh", "uh-uh" (nasal vowels), etc.


a little edgy said:


> Yes, we use a glottal stop in AE in those words, although it doesn't sound exactly like the BE glottal stop in a word like "butter" (as pronounced by BE speakers who use the glottal stop). In American English, it's not a matter of accent or social class. It's how the word is normally pronounced in standard AE. To say the word "button" with a full "t" sound would be over-pronunciation.


It is standard in AmE to use a syllabic _n_ in words like _mountain_, _button_, _certain_, and _important_.

Note that even _-ism_ usually has a schwa vowel between the _s_ and the _m_, but a syllabic _n_ has no vowel at all.

In words like _mountain_ and _important_, the _ai_, _o_, or _a_ is not pronounced at all, not even as a schwa, and the _-n_ or _-nt_ forms a syllable by itself.

The _t_ just before the syllabic _n_ is pronounced but not released. In other words, the voice stops vibrating and the tip of the tongue cuts off the flow of air (as for any [t] sound), but then, without the tip of the tongue going anywhere, the voice begins vibrating again and air is allowed to escape through the nose (as for any /n/ sound).

Recently I have noticed some people on the radio and on YouTube adding a vowel (a schwa, or even an [ɛ]) in front of the _n_, making it no longer syllabic, and using an honest-to-goodness glottal stop just before that vowel.


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## Anais Lee

Thank you Forero for the detailed answer.



Forero said:


> The _t_ just before the syllabic _n_ is pronounced but not released.



Is this unreleased /t/ different from a glottal stop?


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## kentix

Yes, I think we have to distinguish two things, or maybe three. I agree with Edgy that using a full, released t in AE does not normally happen. But the other two things we have to distinguish are an unreleased t and a glottal stop. I do not use a glottal stop in words like that and never have. I have always used an unreleased t and the syllabic n that Forero talks about. Almost everybody I've heard my whole life has, too.

But over the last four or five years I have started hearing people using an actual glottal stop there. To me, it sounds like buh-ihn (button) and mou-ihn (mountain). They don't say any form of t and barely any n sound. To me it sounds very strange.

The glottal stop originates in the back of the throat (the glottis) and the unreleased t originates in the front of the mouth with the tip of the tongue clamped and cutting off airflow.


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## Forero

Anais Lee said:


> Thank you Forero for the detailed answer.
> 
> Is this unreleased /t/ different from a glottal stop?


As I just explained, a /t/ is an unvoiced stop consonant made with the tip of the tongue. A glottal stop is a stop consonant made with the glottis itself. A glottal stop blocks the flow of air using the vocal folds, and can be done without using the tongue.


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## Anais Lee

Thank you, kentix and Forero! I think I understand the difference now. I was wondering if the unreleased /t/ would cause the vocal folds to be closed, creating something similar to a glottal stop, but it seems they will stay open. 

Now I understand their places of articulation are different, though I'm not sure if I can actually hear the difference. I've found IPA Reader on the internet but I hesitate to share it here since the domain name looks a bit weird. Does anyone know if it's a reliable site?


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## dojibear

Anais Lee said:


> Is this not stagmatimzed at all in AE?


Nope. But it is not a separate letter (like in Arabic, Persian and some other languages). It is just how *some* people pronounce a few things.

A glottal stop is a brief interruption of voicing. That also happens when you have an unvoiced, unreleased stop with voicing both before it and after it. Often you can't "hear" the P/T/K. But you hear the brief interruption of voicing. Some speakers use a glottal stop for that.


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## dojibear

Anais Lee said:


> I've found IPA Reader on the internet but I hesitate to share it here since the domain name looks a bit weird. Does anyone know if it's a reliable site?


I don't know that website. Google Search lists it and says "read IPA notation". So I guess it's purpose is to produce the sounds of something written in IPA notation. I don't have a use for that.

I use these two websites for IPA information:
IPA Chart with Sounds – International Phonetic Alphabet Sounds (click-to-hear table of IPA sounds)
The sounds of English and the International Phonetic Alphabet | Antimoon  (sounds used in English, and their IPA symbols)

Some dictionaries use an *IPA-like *notation to describe pronunciation. It isn't accurate IPA, just similar. That is why I prefer dictionaries that let you listen to the word, like the WR dictionary:

random - WordReference.com Dictionary of English


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## Anais Lee

Thanks very much, dojibear! I've found a sound file on Wiktionary :

eaten - Wiktionary

Does it sound like there's a glottal stop?


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## kentix

No, I don't think that is. There is still a t sound in there.


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## Forero

Anais Lee said:


> Thanks very much, dojibear! I've found a sound file on Wiktionary :
> 
> eaten - Wiktionary
> 
> Does it sound like there's a glottal stop?


That's the normal unreleased _t_ and syllabic _n_.


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## kentix

None of the sound samples for the words button or mountain at Forvo use the glottal stop. I was trying to find an example.


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## Anais Lee

I've found some YouTube videos about the use of glottal stops in American English. Frankly, it's difficult for me to be able to tell if it's the unreleased /t/ or the glottal stop unless the speaker speaks very slowly.

Thanks very much again for all your help!


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## natkretep

kentix said:


> None of the sound samples for the words button or mountain at Forvo use the glottal stop. I was trying to find an example.


Listen to the audio (US English) for 'Latin' in Wiktionary: Latin - Wiktionary


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## kentix

I'd say that's the same unreleased t. The pronunciation I'm talking about is a lot different than that. The place I specifically remember hearing it first is on a YouTube channel by an American woman living in German that I used to listen to a few years ago. (I don't think Germany has anything to do with it because I've heard it by other Americans since then.) She grew up mostly in Florida.


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## Anais Lee

I've found a video about the difference between nasal plosion and the glottal stop on YouTube. I can hear the difference, but the speaker is only comparing d+ n̩ and ʔ+ n̩.


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## dojibear

Anais Lee said:


> Frankly, it's difficult for me to be able to tell if it's the unreleased /t/ or the glottal stop unless the speaker speaks very slowly.


The good thing is that it doesn't matter. It never changes the word or meaning. The glottal stop isn't a letter in English. It is simply the sound some speakers use when pronouncing an unreleased /t/.


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## Forero

I have heard various native English speakers use glottal stops for _t_, _k_, and _d_. It can change the word and the meaning.

The one time in my life I was in Cornwall, I met a man who pronounced every final _t_ and _k_ with a glottal stop and every final _d_ and _g_ with an Arabic-like sound. He was, needless to say, very difficult (though not impossible) to understand.

(I don't know whether that is some particular dialect, or whether he was drunk, but he was consistent with his substitutions.)


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## dojibear

Forero said:


> I have heard various native English speakers use glottal stops for _t_, _k_, and _d_. It can change the word and the meaning.


You mean "being unable to distinguish T and K and D" can make the meaning uncertain. That makes sense.

In post #45 I was saying "being unable to distinguish unreleased T from a glottal stop" can't make meaning uncertain.



Forero said:


> I met a man who pronounced every final _t_ and _k_ with a glottal stop


Final T and K? I don't know that use of a glottal stop. I only know about the use between two vowel sounds (bo*tt*le, bu*tt*er).


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