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The epiglottis as an articulator

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 February 2009

Asher Laufer
Affiliation:
(Department of Hebrew Language, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel)
I. D. Condax
Affiliation:
(Department of Linguistics, University of Hawaiiat Manoa)

Extract

We believe that the importance of the epiglottis in speech has been generally underestimated in the phonetic literature. Our evidence leads us to conclude that the epiglottis is an active and independent articulator in the production of pharyngeal consonants and that it is involved in the production of the vowel [a] and in whisper. In earlier phonetic works that we have examined, to the extent that the epiglottis is mentioned at all, it is generally said to have no speech function. An exception to this is the work of Russell (1931), Appelman (1967) and Wilson (1976), where they suggest that the epiglottis is crucial to the production of [a], but because they rely on lateral x-rays, they are unable to complete a convincing case.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Journal of the International Phonetic Association 1979

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References

Al-Ani, S. H. (1970). Arabic phonology: an acoustical and physiological investigation. The Hague: Janua Linguaram, Mouton.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
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