In this video we are going to have a look at the difference between two sounds of English: the glottal stop /ʔ/ and the sound /h/.

First of all, they share three features: they are both consonants, both are unvoiced, and both are formed at the glottis (= the space between our vocal cords). That means they have the same place of articulation and are therefore called voiceless glottal sounds.

Remember, voiceless is the same as unvoiced and means there is no continuous vibration of our vocal cord when the sound is produced. So, what is different?

The main difference is the manner of articulation, i.e. the way the sound is produced. The glottal stop is a plosive just like its name indicates. It is formed as the vocal cords completely restrict airflow which is then suddenly released. This little explosion of air is what makes the sound.

However, the sound /h/ is a voiceless glottal fricative. It is also sometimes called a voiceless glottal transition or aspirate. Here, the vocal cords constrict the air flow a little bit and this results in audible air friction, so it’s a fricative.

At the end of the video, we also have a look at some example words and an allophone sound to our ‘normal’ /h/, the breathy-voiced /ɦ/ which we sometimes hear between vowel sounds.

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