tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Fri Jun 16 06:24:24 1995

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Glottal (and other) stops

• From: Alan Anderson <[email protected]>
• Subject: Glottal (and other) stops
• Date: Fri, 16 Jun 95 08:23:28 -0700

I think some people might get a better insight into what "glottal stop"
really means if they understand first what a "stop" is.

A "stop" is a configuration of the vocal system (tongue, teeth, throat, etc.)
which "stops" the flow of air.  Klingon {'} is called a glottal stop because
the air is stopped in the the "glottis" (the space between the pharynx and
trachea).  But there are other stops as well.  English "T" is a "dental stop",
"P" is a "labial stop", "K" is a "uvular stop".  There's no glottal stop in
English, so MO had to use technical terms to describe its pronunciation.  He
could have described the other sounds of spoken Klingon in similarly technical
terms, but more people understand the English sound equivalents and that's
what he used.  I've oversimplified the classification of stops terribly here,
but I'm not a logopedist.

So "glottal stop" isn't some mystical phrase coined to define the peculiar
grunt that Klingon {'} represents.  It's just a particular kind of a "stop".

-- ghunchu'wI'

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