Voiceless epiglottal affricate
Type of consonant in phonetics
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A voiceless epiglottal affricate ([ʡ͡ʜ] in IPA) is a rare affricate consonant that is initiated as an epiglottal stop [ʡ] (specifically, a voiceless epiglottal stop [ʡ̥]) and released as a voiceless epiglottal fricative [ʜ]. It has not been reported to occur phonemically in any language except in the Hydaburg dialect of the Haida language.
| Voiceless epiglottal affricate | |
|---|---|
| ʡʜ | |
| ʡ̥ʜ | |
| IPA number | 173 172 |
| Audio sample | |
Features
Features of a 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 place of articulation is epiglottal, which means it is articulated with the aryepiglottic folds against the epiglottis.
- 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 that air is not allowed to escape through the nose.
- It is a median consonant, which means it is produced by directing the airstream down the midline of the tongue, rather than to the sides.
- Its airstream mechanism is pulmonic, which means it is articulated by pushing air only with the intercostal muscles and abdominal muscles, as in most speech sounds.