pharyngealization
Guttural sound production
Pharyngealization is a way of producing speech sounds by constricting the throat near the pharynx—the cavity behind the mouth and above the larynx.
The technique appears in Arabic and other Semitic languages, where it distinguishes certain consonants from their non-pharyngealized counterparts.
Linguists mark pharyngealized sounds with a small raised symbol or dot beneath the letter.
Expressed with force
- constrictionTightening or narrowing action
- uvularOf the throat's pendant
- articulatoryOf speech sound production
- dorsalOf the back
coronal · retraction · guttural · backed · lowered · strident · implosive · click
Non-distinctive sound variation
- phonemeMinimal distinctive sound unit
- diacriticSymbol modifying letter pronunciation
- contrastNotable difference between things
- distinctive featureIdentifying quality or trait
phonemic · transcription · IPA · phonological rule · assimilation · spread · domain · syllable
Spectral concentration in speech
- spectralGhostlike or wavelength-related
- frequencyRate of recurrence
- harmonicsFrequencies above the fundamental
- timbreSound's distinctive character
sonority · spectrogram · resonance · voice quality · dark · muffled · waveform · amplitude
Windpipe-covering throat cartilage
- larynxSpeech-producing throat organ
- uvulaSoft palate pendant
- glottisVocal cord opening
- vocal tractSound-shaping airway passage
emphatic
Expressed with force
- constrictionTightening or narrowing action
- uvularOf the throat's pendant
- articulatoryOf speech sound production
dorsal · coronal · retraction · guttural · backed · lowered · strident · implosive · click · trill
allophone
Non-distinctive sound variation
- phonemeMinimal distinctive sound unit
- diacriticSymbol modifying letter pronunciation
- contrastNotable difference between things
distinctive feature · phonemic · transcription · IPA · phonological rule · assimilation · spread · domain · syllable
formant
Spectral concentration in speech
- spectralGhostlike or wavelength-related
- frequencyRate of recurrence
- harmonicsFrequencies above the fundamental
timbre · sonority · spectrogram · resonance · voice quality · dark · muffled · waveform · amplitude
epiglottis
Windpipe-covering throat cartilage
vocal tract · oropharynx · sphincter · retraction · narrowing
- phoneticsphonemes, phoneme, vocal folds, consonants, vowels
- sound changesassimilation, elision, deletion, voicing, nasalization
- Berber linguisticsTuareg, Berber
pharyngealizationclear articulation
Distinct, intelligible speech