Do you know how glottal stop sounds like?
Well, you can achieve it yourself by simply saying something like “uh oh.” so technically, the glottal stop is where the vocal folds come together and stop the breath, therefore stop the sound and then suddenly release it.
When does the glottal stop use?
In English, the glottal stop actually presents within all dialects. However, it’s most known for being a part of the cockney accent that uses it instead of certain consonants like T, so they might say it as /?/ (read: a ah).
They also use it for the letter H, so they would say “ow” instead of “how” and for the “uh oh” sound that I’ve mentioned before. This might happen because the H is somewhat being silenced.
1. T as the glottal stop
We are going to have a look at some rules here. So we pronounce the glottal T when we have either :
vowel + /l/ + T
/m/ + vowel + T
T + vowel + /n/
Vowel + T + consonant
Example:
- Annie is going to submit her assignment this afternoon.
- My brother is late for school today.
- The security was pressing the button.
- Sara owns a cute kitten.
- The task was difficult.
- He can’t catch the ball.
- Roy felt better after drinking a cup of water.
- The graphic shows a setback.
- There are so many witnesses there.
- Joanna was born in Scotland.
2. P as the glottal stop
In English, we may also use the glottal stop for /p/, if the next sound that will be pronounced just made in the same place of the mouth.
Example:
- The company is placed as the top buy.
- Mr. Andrew brings a clipboard.
- It is written, “no one can stop me.”
- Grandpa said that his hip bone felt hurt.
- I was waiting for the second bus, so when it came, I stop it.
- John did the best he can do to appear upbeat.
- The red car is out of fuel at the stoplight.
3. K as the glottal stop
We have to remember that in the cockney accent, the glottal stop is placed before the unstressed vowel sounds. This is the most recognizable form of a cockney accent. But for the standard pronunciation, this form is usually considered not to be acceptable.
Example:
- James speaks in a cockney accent.
- Brian had to lie and cook the books to make the accountant think his business growth is profitable.
- They like to make potteries.
- Mom puts my bag on the backseat.
- We shouldn’t talk back to our parents.
- Today’s exercise was such a back breaking.
- It’s a much better idea to prioritize your workload so that you focus on each task.
4. R as the glottal stop
The glottal stop can be widely used, one of it is for the /r/ sound, where some speakers might pronounce it using the glottal stop.
Example:
- Pour onto the cup.
Instead of reading it as /p??r ??ntu/, we read it as [p?? ???ntu]
- The fire engine is always ready to be used.
Instead of reading the fire engine as /?fa??r en??n/, we read it as [?f??? ?en??n]
- The horse needs extra energy to stay on the race.
Instead of reading the extra energy as /ekstr?r ?en?d?i/, we read it as [ekstr? ??en?d?i]
Other forms of use in glottal stops
Even though a glottal stop can be most recognizable when it replaces the sound of /t/, the glottal stop can also be used before a stressed vowel to add an emphasis.
Example:
- Brandon runs through the hallway, although he knows it’s better not to.
- Let’s go over there to take some photos.
- The spacecraft made a successful reentry into the earth’s atmosphere.