Hard plosives

Hard, or glottalized consonants are made like other consonants, but with an extra gesture at the vocal cords. Glottalization is pronounced differently on plosive versus resonant sounds. On plosive sounds, glottalization is pronounced as a stronger explosion. On resonant sounds, glottalization is pronounced as a catch in the throat. We will discuss hard plosives and hard resonants in turn.

All plosive consonants involve releasing the breath in a small explosion of air. The hard plosives c̓ č̓ k̓ k̓ʷ ƛ̓ p̓ t̓ are like their plain counterparts, but are pronounced with a stronger explosion.

Letter	Name	How it is pronounced
c̓	hard c	an explosive ts
č̓	hard c wedge	an explosive ch
k̓	hard k	an explosive k
k̓ʷ	hard round k	an explosive k with rounded lips
ƛ̓	hard barred lambda	an explosive tl
p̓	hard p	an explosive p
t̓	hard t	an explosive t

Here is a trick to help you learn how to pronounce the hard plosives. Try saying them while holding your breath at your vocal cords, so that no air can go in or out of your lungs. Even while holding your breath, you can still pronounce hard plosives, because the air for them comes from the mouth and throat, rather than from the lungs. By contrast, plain plosives require air flowing out from the lungs, and cannot be said while holding your breath.

Here are some examples:

Click ► to continue.