The voiceless uvular-epiglottal plosive is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages . It is a [ q ] and [ ? ] pronounced simultaneously. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ?q??? .

Features [ edit ]

Features of the voiceless uvular-epiglottal plosive are:

• Its manner of articulation is occlusive , which means it is produced by obstructing airflow in the vocal tract. Since the consonant is also oral, with no nasal outlet , the airflow is blocked entirely, and the consonant is a plosive .
• Its place of articulation is uvular?epiglottal , which means that it is simultaneously articulated with the back part of the tongue (the dorsum) against the uvula and the epiglottis . The laryngeal closure is made and released slightly before the dorsal closure, but they overlap for most of their duration.

• Its phonation is voiceless, which means it is produced without vibrations of the vocal cords. In some languages the vocal cords are actively separated, so it is always voiceless; in others the cords are lax, so that it may take on the voicing of adjacent sounds.
• It is an oral consonant , which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth only.
• It is a central consonant , which means it is produced by directing the airstream along the center of the tongue, rather than to the sides.
• The airstream mechanism is pulmonic , which means it is articulated by pushing air solely with the intercostal muscles and abdominal muscles , as in most sounds.

Occurrence [ edit ]

References [ edit ]

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