Re: glottal stop [Guttoral stop]

In article <4da2VFAd1o9DFw4W@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
Philip Baker <news@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
If you are French (in exile in the Western Cape), describing a glottal
stop is difficult because it is rarely used in French, but it is a
sudden closing/opening of the vocal chords (glottis). The effect is to
give a sharp start or end to a vowel or distinct break between two
consecutive vowels. It commonly replaces 't' in certain circumstances eg
'whiteness', 'that bus' and often precedes a word starting with a vowel
when speaking emphatically. (Its use in front of words beginning with a
vowel is much more common in German.)

I've just been experimenting, and I can't imagine how to begin a phrase
with a vowel and NOT use a glottal stop to start it.

Cheers
Tony
--
Tony Mountifield
Work: tony@xxxxxxxxxxxxx - http://www.softins.co.uk
Play: tony@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx - http://tony.mountifield.org
.

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