{{Short description|Opening between the vocal folds}} {{Distinguish|Glottis (Grim Fandango)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}} {{Infobox anatomy | Name = Glottis | Latin = | Image = | Caption = | Width = | Precursor = | System = | Artery = | Vein = | Nerve = | Lymph = }} The '''glottis''' ({{plural form}}: '''glottises''' or '''glottides''') is the middle region of the larynx, where the vocal cords are located.<ref> {{cite web |author=NCI dictionary |url= https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/glottis |title=Definition of glottis}}</ref> Within this region is the opening between the vocal cords<ref>Ladefoged, Peter. 2006. A course in Phonetics. UCLA.</ref> (the rima glottidis).<ref>{{cite book |author=WebMD |chapter=glottis |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t8UfI3BH78wC&pg=PA178 |page=178 |year=2009 |title=Webster's New World Medical Dictionary |edition=3rd |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |isbn=978-0-544-18897-6}}</ref> The glottis is crucial in producing sound from the vocal cords.<ref>{{cite book |title=Anatomy & Physiology |vauthors=Saladin K |date=2015 |publisher=McGraw Hill |isbn=978-0-07-340371-7 |edition=7th |page=854}}</ref>
==Etymology== From Ancient Greek ''γλωττίς'' (glōttís), derived from ''γλῶττα'' (glôtta), variant of ''γλῶσσα'' (glôssa, "tongue").<ref>wikt:glottis</ref>
==Function== ===Phonation=== {{Main|Phonation}} As the vocal cords vibrate, the resulting vibration produces a "buzzing" quality to the speech, called ''voice'' or ''voicing'' or ''pronunciation''.
Sound production that involves moving the vocal cords close together is called ''glottal''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Introductory Phonology|last=Hayes|first=Bruce|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|year=2009|isbn=978-1-4051-8411-3|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/introductoryphon00haye}}</ref> English has a voiceless glottal transition spelled "h". This sound is produced by keeping the vocal cords spread somewhat, resulting in non-turbulent airflow through the glottis.<ref name=":0" /> In many accents of English the glottal stop (made by pressing the cords together) is used as a variant allophone of the phoneme {{IPA|/t/}} (and in some dialects, occasionally of {{IPA|/k/}} and {{IPA|/p/}}); in some languages, this sound is a phoneme of its own.
Skilled players of the Australian didgeridoo restrict their glottal opening in order to produce the full range of timbres available on the instrument.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1038/43639a |pmid=16001056 |title=Acoustics: The vocal tract and the sound of a didgeridoo |journal=Nature |volume=436 |issue=7047 |pages=39 |year=2005 |last1=Tarnopolsky |first1=Alex |last2=Fletcher |first2=Neville |last3=Hollenberg |first3=Lloyd |last4=Lange |first4=Benjamin |last5=Smith |first5=John |last6=Wolfe |first6=Joe |bibcode=2005Natur.436...39T |url=https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/bitstream/1885/82233/8/01_Fletcher_Vocal_Tract_2005.pdf |hdl=1885/125584 |s2cid=4395889 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>
The vibration produced is an essential component of ''voiced'' consonants as well as vowels. If the vocal cords are drawn apart, air flows between them causing no vibration, as in the production of voiceless consonants.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=De'Ath |first=Leslie |date=2016 |title=Linguistics and Lyric Diction - A Personal Retrospective and a Selective Glossary |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1774332500 |journal=Journal of Singing |volume=72 |issue=4 |pages=465–474 |id={{ProQuest|1774332500}}}}</ref>
The glottis is also important in the Valsalva maneuver. * Voiced consonants include {{IPA|/v/, /z/, /ʒ/, /d͡ʒ/, /ð/, /b/, /d/, /ɡ/, /w/.}} * Voiceless consonants include {{IPA|/f/, /s/, /ʃ/, /t͡ʃ/, /θ/, /p/, /t/, /k/, /ʍ/, and /h/.}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} * [http://web.uvic.ca/ling/research/phonetics/SOG/ States of the Glottis] (Esling & Harris, University of Victoria) * [http://www.ims.uni-stuttgart.de/phonetik/EGG/page4.htm Universität Stuttgart Speech production] *{{cite journal |doi=10.1213/00000539-199906000-00044 |pmid=10357358 |title=Glottis Simulator |journal=Anesthesia & Analgesia |volume=88 |issue=6 |pages=1422–3 |year=1999 |last1=De Menezes Lyra |first1=Roberto |doi-access=free }}
{{Larynx anatomy}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Phonetics Category:Human head and neck Category:Human voice Category:Larynx Category:Speech organs