Glottal stop

GLOTTAL

The stops can appear before /l/ (as in bottle), before /n/ (as in button), before a vowel (as in got it)

Edinburgh, Glasgow, Cardiff, Belfast, Bristol, Birmingham and the Midlands; New York, parts of southern USA, Hawaii, Newfoundland and Barbados. It's not heard much in most northern English accents, southern Ireland, most of the USA, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Between vowel-like sounds, it comes out so quickly that you hardly hear the ‘catch’ in the voice, and the effect is one of a short sharp silence – as in the way London Cockneys say the /t/ sound in "bottle" / "water". It has no letter of the alphabet, but there's a special symbol: [ʔ]

How does the glottal stop form?

The glottis is the space between the vocal cords, which are located behind the Adam’s apple in the throat. Air pressure builds up behind the closure, and when this is released the sound pops out in a mini-explosion.