6
THROAT SOUNDS.
while in ‘ fee ' only the vowel is changed, the consonant
remaining breathed as in loud speech. It must, therefore,
be understood in phonetic discussions that whenever we
talk of a whispered sound we mean one that is pronounced
with a definite contraction of the glottis. Whether we talk
of a ‘ whispered (f)' or a ‘ whispered (v)' is indifferent—
both names signify the ‘lip-teeth whisper' consonant ('v)a.
17. The acoustic distinction between breath and whisper
is not very marked, but if we compare (fv) with (f), we
perceive clearly that (cv) is, like (v), a composite sound,
with a distinct friction in the larynx. Whispered sounds
are also feebler than breath ones, the force of the outgoing
air being diminished by the glottis contraction.
Other Larynx Sounds.
18. Glottal Catch (x). When the glottis is suddenly
opened or closed on a passage of breath or voice, a per¬
cussive effect is produced, analogous to that of (k) or any
other ‘ stopped'consonant. The most familiar example
of this ‘glottal catch' is an ordinary cough. The student
should carefully practise the glottal catch in combination
with vowels till he is able to produce (xa) and (ax) as
easily as (ka) and (ak), taking care not to let any breath
escape after the (x) in (xa), as is the case in coughing.
He should then learn to shut and open the glottis silently,
and to know by the muscular sensation alone whether it
is open or shut. It is easy to test the closure of the glottis
by tapping on the throat above the larynx, which, when
a The (c ), = ‘ breath,’ combined with (v), which implies voice,
suggests something intermediate to breath and voice, which is
whisper. See Ellis, E. E. P. p. 1129.