Chapter 20Glottal Stops and the Distribution of /h/
Glottal closure, competing phoneme and boundary analyses, and the distribution of /h/ in Hokkaido and Sakhalin.
20.1 Glottal closure and h
Two laryngeal sounds need separate treatment in Hokkaido Ainu: the glottal stop [ʔ] and the fricative /h/. A glottal stop interrupts the airflow by closing the vocal folds; /h/ is a fricative consonant. Descriptions agree on /h/ as a phoneme, while the phonemic status of [ʔ] remains disputed Nakagawa (2024: 27, 31–33); Shiraishi (2022: §§3, 4.3) ‹contested›.
The disagreement affects how vowel-initial syllables and vowel sequences are represented. It also affects comparisons between forms in which a consonant joins the next syllable and forms in which a boundary remains audible.
20.2 The glottal stop
20.2.1 Phonetic distribution
Glottal closure can occur before an initial vowel, between vowels, or at a boundary where a consonant remains in the preceding syllable. Nakagawa illustrates a clearly audible interruption in teeta “long ago” and in a pronunciation of itak=an “we speak” with a break before the person ending Nakagawa (2024: 32).
Its strength varies. Shiraishi reports Tamura's observation that a clear glottal stop or tension is favored before an accented vowel or a vowel in a closed syllable. Elsewhere the transition may be gradual and no clear stop audible Shiraishi (2022: §4.3). Transcription should distinguish the audible event from an analyst's decision to posit a consonant even when its realization is weak.
20.2.2 Competing phonological accounts
| Account | Motivation | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Glottal stop as a consonant phoneme | Vowel-initial syllables receive an onset, yielding CV and CVC syllable types. | Bugaeva (2012: 465–467); Hattori's analysis as reviewed by Shiraishi (2022: §4.3) |
| Glottal closure as a realization of a boundary | The analysis admits vowel-initial syllables and does not require a glottal consonant in every such position. | Nakagawa (2024: 31–33); Okuda (2025: 43–44) |
The consonant analysis simplifies the inventory of syllable shapes. Nakagawa argues that it also requires additional rules to remove the glottal consonant in morphological combinations; his boundary analysis avoids that cost Nakagawa (2024: 33, 44). The choice concerns the organization of the phonological description, alongside the evidence for particular contrasts ‹contested›.
Refsing reports that glottal closure was difficult for her to detect in her speaker's speech and omits it from her transcription Refsing (1986: §10.2). That observation should retain its speaker and transcription context. Okuda discusses the possibility of weak closure and relates the debate to syllable-boundary analysis Okuda (2025: 43–44).
20.2.3 Juncture and resyllabification
A final consonant can become the onset of a following vowel-initial syllable. Shiraishi illustrates this with sik-o “open the eyes,” syllabified si.ko, and hum-as “a sound is heard,” syllabified hu.mas Shiraishi (2022: §4.4).
The process is sometimes blocked by accent or by a morphological boundary, including the boundary between repeated elements. A glottal stop can occur where the vowel begins its own syllable Shiraishi (2022: §4.4). Thus morpheme boundaries, written word boundaries, and pronounced syllable boundaries need to be considered separately; see Chapter 21 (Syllable Structure, Phonotactics, and Word-Edge Constraints).
20.2.4 A Shizunai contrast
Okuda gives the following Shizunai contrast, represented phonetically as [tʃiʃʔekot] and [tʃisekot] Okuda (2025: 44):
‘die crying’
Okuda 2025: 44; Shizunai
Pronounced [tʃiʃʔekot]. Okuda shows the syllabification cis.e.kot. Morpheme boundaries and English glosses are supplied here.
‘house site’
Okuda 2025: 44; Shizunai
Pronounced [tʃisekot], with syllabification ci.se.kot. Morpheme boundaries and English glosses are supplied here.
The contrast can be represented with a glottal consonant or with different syllable boundaries. Okuda explicitly discusses both possibilities Okuda (2025: 44). Recognizing the contrast therefore leaves an analytical choice about how to represent it ‹contested›.
20.3 Emphatic forms
Shiraishi reports Kindaichi's contrast between ordinary phonetic lengthening and emphatic forms in which a glottal interruption separates the vowels Shiraishi (2022: §2.2):
| Ordinary form | Meaning | Emphatic pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| wen | bad | [weʔen] | very bad |
| to | over there | [toʔo] | far away |
| teta | a few days before | [teʔeta] | long ago |
These forms illustrate why duration alone is insufficient for identifying vowel length. The syllable structure and interruption matter; compare Chapter 17 (The Vowel Inventory and Vowel Realization).
20.4 The fricative h
20.4.1 Onset realization and weakening
The phoneme /h/ occurs as an onset. Nakagawa describes [h] before /a, e, o/, [ç] before /i/, and frequently [ɸ] before /u/, with variation in the strength of this vowel conditioning Nakagawa (2024: 28). Shiraishi reports weaker conditioning in Tamura's descriptions of older speakers Shiraishi (2022: §3).
/h/ can weaken or disappear in connected speech, especially in dependent words. Nakagawa gives an hine pronounced anine and hawean hi pronounced haweani, while stressing variation with speech rate and care Nakagawa (2024: 39). A fuller account appears in Chapter 31 (Person Markers: Contraction, Accent, and Suffix Boundaries).
20.4.2 Hokkaido and Sakhalin final consonants
Ordinary Hokkaido phonotactics exclude /h/ from the syllable coda Nakagawa (2024: 27); Satō (2008: 11). Sakhalin final /h/ belongs to a different set of correspondences. Tangiku documents the replacement of historical final stops by /h/ in many Sakhalin dialects, with geographical exceptions Tangiku (2022: §2.3).
The glottal stop, a weakened onset /h/, and Sakhalin final /h/ should consequently be identified by their separate distributions and source descriptions. The comparative patterns are treated in Chapter 162 (Sakhalin and Northern Kuril Comparisons).
References cited in this chapter
Bugaeva (2012) ·Nakagawa (2024) ·Okuda (2025) ·Refsing (1986) ·Satō (2008) ·Shiraishi (2022) ·Tangiku (2022)