science

Strident vowel

Strident vowel is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Strident vowel rather than just read about it. In short: Strident vowels (also called sphincteric or epiglottalized vowels) are strongly pharyngealized vowels accompanied by an (ary)epiglottal trill, with the larynx being raised and the pharynx constricted. Either the epiglottis or the arytenoid cartilages thus vibrate instead of the vocal cords.

Key takeaways

Strident vowel belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Strident vowel to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Strident vowel from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Strident vowels (also called sphincteric or epiglottalized vowels) are strongly pharyngealized vowels accompanied by an (ary)epiglottal trill, with the larynx being raised and the pharynx constricted. Either the epiglottis or the arytenoid cartilages thus vibrate instead of the vocal cords. That is, the epiglottal trill is the voice source for such sounds. Strident vowels are fairly common in Khoisan languages, which contrasts them with simple pharyngealized vowels. Stridency is used in onomatopoeia in Zulu and Lamba. Stridency may be a type of phonation called harsh voice. A similar phonation, without the trill, is called ventricular voice; both have been called pressed voice. Bai, of southern China, has a register system that has allophonic strident and pressed vowels.

There is no official symbol for stridency in the IPA, but a superscript ⟨𐞴⟩ (for a voiced epiglottal trill) is often used. In some literature, a subscript double tilde ⟨◌᷽⟩ (similar to the subscript single tilde ⟨◌̰⟩ used to transcribe creaky voice) has been used.

Languages These languages use phonemic strident vowels:

Tuu languages Taa (See Taa vowels) ǃKwi (ǃUi) Nǁng (a dialect cluster; moribund) ǀXam (a dialect cluster, including Nǀuusaa) †

See also Nasal vowel Vowel

References

Bibliography Doke, C. M. (1936). "An outline of ǂKhomani Bushman phonetics". Bantu Studies. 10 (1): 433–460. doi:10.1080/02561751.1936.9676037. Esling, John H.; Moisik, Scott R.; Benner, Allison; Crevier-Buchman, Lise (2019). Voice Quality: The Laryngeal Articulator Model. Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781108696555. ISBN 9781108696555. Exter, Mats (2008-11-19). Properties of the Anterior and Posterior Click Closures in Nǀuu. Institut für Linguistik (Thesis). Universität zu Köln. Ladefoged, Peter; Maddieson, Ian (1996). The Sounds of the World's Languages. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 0-631-19815-6. Ladefoged, Peter; Maddieson, Ian (1990). "Vowels of the world's languages". Journal of Phonetics. 18 (2): 93–122. doi:10.1016/S0095-4470(19)30396-1. ISSN 0095-4470. Miller-Ockhuizen, Amanda (2003). The phonetics and phonology of gutturals: case study from Juǀʼhoansi. Outstanding dissertations in Linguistics. New York City, NY: Routledge. doi:10.4324/9780203506400. ISBN 978-0-415-86141-0. LCCN 2003046887. Moisik, Scott; Czaykowska-Higgins, Ewa; Esling, John H. (Winter 2012). Loughran, Jenny; McKillen, Alanah (eds.). "The Epilaryngeal Articulator: A New Conceptual Tool for Understanding Lingual-Laryngeal Contrasts". McGill Working Papers in Linguistics. 22 (1). McGill University.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Strident vowel

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Strident vowel claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Strident vowel before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Strident vowel ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Strident vowel

In research: Strident vowel appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Strident vowel in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Strident vowel is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Phonation, Phonetics stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Strident vowel outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Strident vowel in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Strident vowel means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Strident vowel out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Strident vowel in simple terms?

Why does Strident vowel matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Strident vowel?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Strident vowel.