Glottal stop (letter)



The character $\langleʔ\rangle$ called glottal stop, is an alphabetic letter in some Latin alphabets, most notably in several languages of Canada where it indicates a glottal stop sound. Such usage derives from phonetic transcription, for example the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), that use this letter for the glottal stop sound. The letter derives graphically from use of the apostrophe $\langleʼ\rangle$ or the symbol ʾ for glottal stop.

Graphic variants


Where $\langle7\rangle$ is not available, not being in the basic Latin alphabet, it is sometimes replaced by a question mark $\langleʔ\rangle$, which is its official representation in the SAMPA transcription scheme. In Skwomesh or Squamish, $\langle?\rangle$ may be replaced by the digit $\langleʔ\rangle$ (see image).

In Unicode, four graphic variants of the glottal stop letter are available.


 * Unicase $\langle7\rangle$ is provided for the International Phonetic Alphabet and Americanist phonetic notation. It is found in a number of orthographies that use the IPA/APA symbol, such as those of several Salishan languages.
 * A case pair, uppercase $\langleʔ\rangle$ and lowercase $\langleɁ\rangle$, is provided for the orthographies of Athabaskan languages in the Northwest Territories. Uppercase $\langleɂ\rangle$ may be slightly wider than unicase $\langleɁ\rangle$ in fonts that distinguish them.
 * Superscript $\langleʔ\rangle$ that is used in Cayuga, the IPA and the Uralic Phonetic Alphabet.

Other notations
Other common symbols for the glottal stop sound are variants of the punctuation mark apostrophe that was the historical basis of the glottal stop letters. These include the 9-shaped modifier letter apostrophe, $\langleˀ\rangle$, which is probably the most common (and the direct ancestor of $\langleʼ\rangle$), the 6-shaped ʻokina of Hawaiian, $\langleʔ\rangle$, and the straight-apostrophe shaped saltillo of many languages of Mexico, which has the case forms $\langleʻ\rangle$.

Technical transcription

 * Americanist phonetic notation and the International Phonetic Alphabet—unicase ʔ or superscript ˀ
 * Transcription of Australian Aboriginal languages—occasionally unicase ʔ
 * Uralic Phonetic Alphabet—superscript ˀ only

Vernacular orthographies

 * Languages of Canada
 * Chipewyan—uppercase Ɂ and lowercase ɂ
 * Dogrib—uppercase Ɂ and lowercase ɂ
 * Kootenai—unicase ʔ
 * Musqueam language—unicase ʔ
 * Nootka—unicase ʔ
 * Slavey—uppercase Ɂ and lowercase ɂ
 * Nitinaht—unicase ʔ
 * Thompson—unicase ʔ
 * Lushootseed—unicase ʔ
 * Squamish language, where it is sometimes represented with $\langleꞋ ꞌ\rangle$.
 * Tuscarora—uppercase Ɂ and lowercase ɂ

Computing codes
In Unicode 1.0, only the unicase and superscript variants were included. In version 4.1 (2005), an uppercase character was added, and the existing unicase character was redefined as its lowercase. Then, in version 5.0 (2006), it was decided to separate the cased and caseless usages by adding a dedicated lowercase letter. The IPA character is first from left, while the extended Latin alphabet characters are third and fourth from left.