Pharyngealization
Pharyngealization or pharyngealisation is a secondary articulation of consonants or vowels by which the pharynx or epiglottis is constricted during the articulation of the sound.
IPA symbols
In the International Phonetic Alphabet, pharyngealization can be indicated by one of two methods:- A tilde or swung dash is written through the base letter. It is the older and more generic symbol. It indicates velarization, uvularization or pharyngealization, as in, the guttural equivalent of.
- The symbol - a superscript variant of, the voiced pharyngeal approximant - is written after the base letter. It indicates specifically a pharyngealized consonant, as in, a pharyngealized.
Other systems
In many romanisation system like for Arabic,◌. is used. For example, ṭ is used for the country of .Computing codes
Since Unicode 1.1, there have been two similar superscript characters: IPA and Semiticist . U+02E4 is formally a superscript , and in the Unicode charts looks like a simple superscript, though in some fonts it looks like a superscript reversed lower-case letter glottal stop. U+02C1 is a typographic alternative to ; which is used to transliterate the Semitic consonant ayin and which is equivalent to a reversed, which itself transliterates the glottal Semitic consonants aleph and hamza. In the Unicode charts U+02C1 looks like a reversed , which is used in the IPA for glottalization. There is no parallel Unicode distinction for modifier glottal stop. The IPA Handbook lists U+02E4 as the Unicode equivalent of IPA Number 423, the dedicated IPA symbol for pharyngealization.The superimposed tilde is assigned Unicode character U+0334. This was originally intended to combine with other letters to represent pharyngealization. However, that usage is now deprecated, and several precomposed letters have been adopted to replace it. These are the labial consonants and the coronal consonants.
Usage
, an extinct Northwest Caucasian language spoken in Russia and Turkey, used pharyngealization in 14 pharyngealized consonants. Tsilhqotʼin has pharyngealized consonants that trigger pharyngealization of vowels. Many languages in the Plateau culture area of North America also have pharyngealization processes that are triggered by pharyngeal or pharyngealized consonants, which affect vowels.The Tuu/"Khoisan" language Taa has pharyngealized vowels that contrast phonemically with voiced, breathy and epiglottalized vowels. That feature is represented in the orthography by a tilde under the respective pharyngealized vowel. In Tuu languages, epiglottalized vowels are phonemic.
For many languages, pharyngealization is generally associated with more dental articulations of coronal consonants. Dark l tends to be dental or denti-alveolar, but clear l tends to be retracted to an alveolar position.
Arabic and Syriac use secondary uvularization, which is generally not distinguished from pharyngealization, for the "emphatic" coronal consonants.
Examples of pharyngealized consonants
Stops
- pharyngealized voiceless alveolar stop
- pharyngealized voiced alveolar stop
- pharyngealized voiceless bilabial stop
- pharyngealized voiced bilabial stop
- pharyngealized voiceless uvular stop
- pharyngealized voiced uvular stop
- pharyngealized glottal stop
- pharyngealized voiceless velar plosive
- pharyngealized voiced velar plosive
Fricatives
- pharyngealized voiceless alveolar sibilant
- pharyngealized voiced alveolar sibilant
- pharyngealized voiceless postalveolar fricative
- pharyngealized voiced postalveolar fricative
- pharyngealized voiceless dental fricative
- pharyngealized voiced dental fricative
- pharyngealized voiceless alveolar lateral fricative
- pharyngealized voiced alveolar lateral fricative
- pharyngealized voiceless labiodental fricative
- pharyngealized voiced labiodental fricative
- pharyngealized voiceless uvular fricative
- pharyngealized voiced uvular fricative
- pharyngealized voiceless glottal fricative
Affricates
- pharyngealized voiceless alveolar affricate
- pharyngealized voiced alveolar affricate
- pharyngealized voiceless postalveolar affricate
- pharyngealized voiced postalveolar affricate
Trills
- pharyngealized voiced alveolar trill
Nasals
- pharyngealized bilabial nasal
- pharyngealized alveolar nasal
- pharyngealized uvular nasal
Approximants
- pharyngealized labialized velar approximant
- pharyngealized alveolar lateral approximant
- pharyngealized labialized postalveolar approximant
- pharyngealized velar approximant, with the body of the tongue bunched up at the velum
Examples of pharyngealized vowels
- pharyngealized open-mid back rounded vowel in Northern Standard Dutch
- pharyngealized vowels in the Air Tamajeq language
- pharyngealized vowels in Even
- pharyngealized vowels in Tsakhur
- pharyngealized vowels in Udi
- pharyngealized vowels in Mambay
- pharyngealized vowels in ǃXóõ