| Glottis | |
|---|---|
 Arytenoid cartilage | |
 Glottis positions | |
| Identifiers | |
| MeSH | D005931 |
| TA98 | A06.2.09.012 |
| TA2 | 3197 |
| FMA | 55414 |
| Anatomical terminology | |
Theglottis (pl.:glottises orglottides) is the opening between thevocal folds[1] (therima glottidis).[2] The glottis is crucial in producing sound from the vocal folds.
From Ancient Greekγλωττίς (glōttís), derived fromγλῶττα (glôtta), variant ofγλῶσσα (glôssa, "tongue").[3]
As the vocal folds vibrate, the resulting vibration produces a "buzzing" quality to the speech, calledvoice orvoicing orpronunciation.
Sound production that involves moving the vocal folds close together is calledglottal.[4] English has avoiceless glottal transition spelled "h". This sound is produced by keeping the vocal folds spread somewhat, resulting in non-turbulent airflow through the glottis.[4] In many accents of English theglottal stop (made by pressing the folds together) is used as a variantallophone of the phoneme/t/ (and in some dialects, occasionally of/k/ and/p/); in some languages, this sound is aphoneme of its own.
Skilled players of the Australiandidgeridoo restrict their glottal opening in order to produce the full range oftimbres available on the instrument.[5]
The vibration produced is an essential component ofvoicedconsonants as well asvowels. If the vocal folds are drawn apart, air flows between them causing no vibration, as in the production of voiceless consonants.[6]
The glottis is also important in theValsalva maneuver.
