Editing Phonation (section)

==State of the glottis==
{{multiple image
 | total_width=350
 | perrow = 2 / 1
 | image1 = Vocal folds-201611.jpg
 | alt1 = Spread vocal folds
 | caption1 = {{center|Vocal folds when spread}}
 | image2 = Vocal folds-speaking 201611.jpg
 | alt2 = Phonating vocal folds
 | caption2 = {{center|Vocal folds when phonating}}
 | image3 = Glottis_positions.png
 | alt3 = Diagram of glottis positions
 | caption3 = Different glottis positions:<br/>
A. Glottis closure; B. phonation position; C. whisper position; D. breath position; E. respiratory position or resting position; F. deep breathing position
}}
In linguistic phonetic treatments of phonation, such as those of [[Peter Ladefoged]], phonation was considered to be a matter of points on a continuum of tension and closure of the vocal cords. More intricate mechanisms were occasionally described, but they were difficult to investigate, and until recently the state of the glottis and phonation were considered to be nearly synonymous.<ref name="Ladefoged">{{SOWL}}</ref>{{page needed|date=August 2018}}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ style="text-align: left;"|Types of Laryngeal Setting{{r|Ladefoged|p=48}}
! Type
! Definition
|-
| '''Modal voice''' || Regular vibrations of the vocal cords
|-
| '''Voiceless''' || Lack of vibration of the vocal cords; [[arytenoid cartilage]]s usually apart
|-
| '''Aspirated''' || Having greater airflow than in modal voice before or after a stricture; arytenoid cartilages may be further apart than in voiceless
|-
| '''Breathy voice''' || Vocal cords vibrating but without appreciable contact; arytenoid cartilages further apart than in modal voice
|-
| '''Slack voice''' || Vocal cords vibrating but more loosely than in modal voice
|-
| '''Creaky voice''' || Vocal cords vibrating anteriorly, but with the arytenoid cartilages pressed together; lower airflow than in modal voice
|-
| '''Stiff voice''' || Vocal cords vibrating but more stiffly  than in modal voice
|}

If the vocal cords are completely relaxed, with the arytenoid cartilages apart for maximum airflow, the cords do not vibrate. This is '''voiceless''' phonation, and is extremely common with [[obstruent]]s. If the arytenoids are pressed together for '''glottal closure''', the vocal cords block the airstream, producing stop sounds such as the [[glottal stop]]. In between there is a '''sweet spot''' of maximum vibration. Also, the existence of an optimal glottal shape for ease of phonation has been shown, at which the lung pressure required to initiate the vocal cord vibration is minimum.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|title = Optimal glottal configuration for ease of phonation|last = Lucero|first = J. C.|date = 1998|journal = Journal of Voice|doi = 10.1016/S0892-1997(98)80034-9|pmid = 9649070|volume = 12|issue = 2|pages = 151–158}}</ref> This is [[modal voice]], and is the normal state for vowels and [[sonorant]]s in all the world's languages. However, the aperture of the arytenoid cartilages, and therefore the tension in the vocal cords, is one of degree between the end points of open and closed, and there are several intermediate situations utilized by various languages to make contrasting sounds.<ref name="Ladefoged"/>{{page needed|date=August 2018}}

For example, [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]] has vowels with a partially lax phonation called '''breathy voice''' or '''[[murmured voice]]''' (transcribed in IPA with a subscript umlaut {{IPA|◌̤}}), while [[Burmese language|Burmese]] has vowels with a partially tense phonation called '''[[creaky voice]]''' or '''laryngealized voice''' (transcribed in IPA with a subscript tilde {{IPA|◌̰}}). The Jalapa dialect of [[Mazateco|Mazatec]] is unusual in contrasting both with [[modal voice]] in a three-way distinction. (Mazatec is a tonal language, so the glottis is making several tonal distinctions simultaneously with the phonation distinctions.)<ref name="Ladefoged"/>{{page needed|date=August 2018}}

{| class="wikitable"
| ||colspan=2|'''Mazatec'''
|-
| '''breathy voice''' || {{IPA|[ja̤]}} || ''he wears''
|-
| '''modal voice''' || {{IPA|[já]}} || ''tree''
|-
| '''creaky voice''' || {{IPA|[ja̰]}} || ''he carries''
|}
:''Note: There was an editing error in the source of this information. The latter two translations may have been mixed up.''

[[Javanese language|Javanese]] does not have modal voice in its [[stop consonant|stop]]s, but contrasts two other points along the phonation scale, with more moderate departures from modal voice, called [[slack voice]] and [[stiff voice]]. The "muddy" consonants in [[Shanghainese (dialect)|Shanghainese]] are slack voice; they contrast with tenuis and aspirated consonants.<ref name="Ladefoged"/>{{page needed|date=August 2018}}

Although each language may be somewhat different, it is convenient to classify these degrees of phonation into discrete categories. A series of seven alveolar stops, with phonations ranging from an open/lax to a closed/tense glottis, are:

{| class="wikitable"
|'''Open glottis'''||{{IPA|[t]}}||''[[voiceless]]'' (full airstream)
|-
| ||{{IPA|[d̤]}}||''[[Murmured voice|breathy voice]]''
|-
| ||{{IPA|[d̥]}}||''[[slack voice]]''
|-
|'''Sweet spot'''||{{IPA|[d]}}||''[[modal voice]]'' (maximum vibration)
|-
| ||{{IPA|[d̬]}}||''[[stiff voice]]''
|-
| ||{{IPA|[d̰]}}||''[[creaky voice]]''
|-
|'''Closed glottis'''||{{IPA|[ʔ͡t]}}||''glottal closure'' (blocked airstream)
|}

The IPA diacritics ''under-ring'' and ''subscript wedge'', commonly called "voiceless" and "voiced", are sometimes added to the symbol for a voiced sound to indicate more lax/open (slack) and tense/closed (stiff) states of the glottis, respectively. (Ironically, adding the 'voicing' diacritic to the symbol for a voiced consonant indicates ''less'' modal voicing, not more, because a modally voiced sound is already fully voiced, at its sweet spot, and any further tension in the vocal cords dampens their vibration.)<ref name="Ladefoged"/>{{page needed|date=August 2018}}

[[Alsatian language|Alsatian]], like several Germanic languages, has a typologically unusual phonation in its stops. The consonants transcribed {{IPA|/b̥/, /d̥/, /ɡ̊/}} (ambiguously called "lenis") are partially voiced: The vocal cords are positioned as for voicing, but do not actually vibrate. That is, they are technically voiceless, but without the open glottis usually associated with voiceless stops. They contrast with both modally voiced {{IPA|/b, d, ɡ/}} and modally voiceless {{IPA|/p, t, k/}} in French borrowings, as well as aspirated {{IPA|/kʰ/}} word initially.<ref name="Ladefoged"/>{{page needed|date=August 2018}}

If the arytenoid cartiledges are parted to admit turbulent airflow, the result is whisper phonation if the vocal folds are adducted, and [[whispery voice]] phonation (murmur) if the vocal folds vibrate modally. Whisper phonation is heard in many productions of French {{lang|fr|oui!}}, and the "voiceless" vowels of many North American languages are actually whispered.<ref>{{cite book |last=Laver |year=1994 |title=Principles of Phonetics |pages=189 ff, 296 ff, 344 ff}}</ref>

===Glottal consonants===
It has long been noted that in many languages, both phonologically and historically, the [[glottal consonant]]s {{IPA|[ʔ, ɦ, h]}} do not behave like other consonants. Phonetically, they have no [[manner of articulation|manner]] or [[place of articulation]] other than the state of the glottis: ''glottal closure'' for {{IPA|[ʔ]}}, ''breathy voice'' for {{IPA|[ɦ]}}, and ''open airstream'' for {{IPA|[h]}}. Some phoneticians have described these sounds as neither glottal nor consonantal, but instead as instances of pure phonation, at least in many European languages. However, in [[Semitic languages]] they do appear to be true glottal consonants.<ref name="Ladefoged"/>{{page needed|date=August 2018}}