laryngeal consonant

linguistics

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June 30, 2026

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A laryngeal consonant is a speech sound produced with the involvement of the larynx, specifically related to the vocal cords. Consonants, in general, are speech sounds characterized by a blockage or narrowing of the vocal tract that obstructs airflow. The larynx, located at the top of the windpipe, contains the vocal cords, which vibrate to produce voiced sounds. Laryngeal sounds can be further classified by their place and manner of articulation, as well as whether they are voiced or voiceless. The term "laryngeal" can also refer to sounds reconstructed for Proto-Indo-European or anatomical parts associated with the larynx.12345

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Anatolian languages
Phonological characteristics
…direct evidence for the “laryngeal” consonants reconstructed for Proto-Indo-European on purely internal grounds by linguist Ferdinand de Saussure in 1879. Study of the details of the development of these guttural (or pharyngeal) fricatives in Anatolian continues.
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…direct evidence for the “laryngeal” consonants reconstructed for Proto-Indo-European on purely internal grounds by linguist Ferdinand de Saussure in 1879. Study of the details of the development of these guttural (or pharyngeal) fricatives in Anatolian continues.
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Indo-European languages
Consonants
…consonants, for which the label laryngeal is used. These consonants, however, have mostly disappeared or have become identical with other sounds in the recorded Indo-European languages, so that their former existence has had to be deduced mainly from their effects on neighbouring sounds. Hence, the laryngeal sounds were not suspected…
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…consonants, for which the label laryngeal is used. These consonants, however, have mostly disappeared or have become identical with other sounds in the recorded Indo-European languages, so that their former existence has had to be deduced mainly from their effects on neighbouring sounds. Hence, the laryngeal sounds were not suspected…
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Semitic languages
The laryngeal, pharyngeal, and uvular sounds
…ʾ) are pronounced in the larynx. The latter sound is formed by cutting off the airstream through the shutting of the vocal cords, as in the middle of the exclamation uh-oh! or in the Cockney English pronunciation of “bottle” as boʾl. A gagginglike constriction of the pharynx produces the rasping…
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…ʾ) are pronounced in the larynx. The latter sound is formed by cutting off the airstream through the shutting of the vocal cords, as in the middle of the exclamation uh-oh! or in the Cockney English pronunciation of “bottle” as boʾl. A gagginglike constriction of the pharynx produces the rasping…
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