Glottal Stops

A common feature of Onʌyoteʔa·ká· is the glottal stop indicated in writing by an apostrophe (‘) or the symbol ʔ. A glottal stop occurs when a speaker abruptly “cuts” the end off a vowel by stopping air and sound coming out of their throat. We use glottal stops in speaking English all the time, but we are unaware of them and do not write them.

Example: When saying “no,” people sometimes say “uh-unh.” (The glottal stop occurs after the “uh” and before the “unh.”) Many people also glottalize the double-t in words like kitten, so that they say “kiʔten.” Examples of Onʌyoteʔa·ká· words with glottal stops are:

Sometimes a vowel with a glottal stop is given a short or a long stress. Examples: