The glottal stop in English
A glottal stop is a short silence made by closing the vocal cords, the catch in the middle of “uh-oh”. In English it often replaces T: before N (“button”, “mountain”) in almost all accents, and before other consonants or at the end of words in many of them.
Say the words
Press Listen, then Say it. Green means the word was understood.
- button/ˈbʌtən/
- mountain/ˈmaʊntən/
- certain/ˈsɝtən/
- written/ˈrɪtən/
- important/ɪmˈpɔrtənt/
- curtain/ˈkɝtən/
- football/ˈfʊtˌbɔl/
- network/ˈnɛtˌwɝk/
- outside/ˌaʊtˈsaɪd/
- department/dɪˈpɑrtmənt/
- apartment/əˈpɑrtmənt/
- right now/raɪt naʊ/
Runs in your browser with its built-in speech recognition (Chrome, Edge, Safari). Nothing is installed and no account is needed.
How to make it
- Say “uh-oh” slowly. Between the two parts your throat closes and the sound stops. That closure is the glottal stop /ʔ/.
- Now say “bu” and close the throat the same way instead of making a T.
- Release straight into N with the tongue already on the ridge: “bu-n”. There is no vowel between them.
Where it replaces T
| Position | American | British (modern, informal) | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| T before syllabic N | yes, standard | yes | button, mountain, written, certain |
| T before another consonant | common | very common | football, network, outside, atmosphere |
| T at the end before a pause | unreleased or glottal | common | what, right, that |
| T between vowels | no: flap instead | in London and many regional accents | water, better, butter |
Should learners use it?
In “button” and “mountain”, yes: a fully released T (“but-ton”) sounds over-careful in every accent. Before consonants it happens naturally if you do not release the T. Between vowels, the glottal “wa’er” is a strong regional marker in Britain; a clear T or an American flap is the neutral choice.
Questions people ask
Is the glottal stop bad English?
No. Every native accent uses it somewhere. Only its use between vowels is socially marked, and only in Britain.
What is the symbol?
In IPA it is /ʔ/, a question mark without the dot.
How do I say “important”?
Americans commonly say “im-POR-ʔnt”: a glottal stop for the first T and no vowel before the N.
Related
- The flap TWhen Americans pronounce T as a quick D: water, city, a lot of.
- Aspirated P, T, KWhy “pin” without a puff of air sounds like “bin” to an English ear.
- Connected speech and linkingWhy “what do you want” sounds like “whaddaya want”: five linking rules.
- British vs AmericanR, T, the “bath” vowel and 30 words that are said differently.