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InSemiticlinguistics, anemphatic consonant is anobstruentconsonant which originally contrasted, and often still contrasts, with an analogousvoiced orvoiceless obstruent by means of asecondary articulation. In specific Semitic languages, the members of the emphatic series may be realized asuvularized,pharyngealized,velarized orejective, or by plain voicing contrast; for instance, inArabic, emphasis involves retraction of the dorsum (or root) of the tongue, which has variously been described as velarization or pharyngealization depending on where the locus of the retraction is assumed to be. The term is also used, to a lesser extent, to describe cognate series in otherAfro-Asiatic languages, where they are typically realized as ejective,implosive or pharyngealized consonants.

InSemitic studies, emphatic consonants are commonly transcribed using the convention of placing a dot under the closest plain consonant in theLatin alphabet. However, exceptions exist: original emphatick developed into/q/ in most Semitic languages; strictly speaking, it has thus ceased to be an emphatic version ofk and has become a different consonant, being most commonly transcribed asq (rather thanḳ) accordingly.

Within Arabic, the four emphatic consonants vary in phonetic realization from dialect to dialect, but are typically realized as pharyngealized consonants. InEthiopian Semitic andModern South Arabian languages, they are realized as ejective consonants. While these sounds do not necessarily share any particularphonetic properties in common, most historically derive from a common source.

Five such "emphatic" phonemes arereconstructed forProto-Semitic:

An additional emphatic phoneme/ʃʼ/ (/çʼ/ in Central Jibbali) occurs in all the Modern South Arabian languages. There are few occurrences of it and the phoneme never appears in the same words in the six MSAL (Mehri,Soqotri,Shehri (Jibbali),Harsusi,Hobyot, andBathari),^[3] in a few occurrences, no phonological explanation can be given to its occurrence, but it appears to be connected to different phonological developments:

1. From Proto-Semiticṣ[sʼ]:Mehri/ʃʼəbaːʔ/,/haʃʼbaːʔ/ or/ħaʃʼ.baːʕ/,Hobyot from Hedemet/hiːʃʼəbaːʔ/,Harsusi/haʃʼbaːʔ/vs.Jibbali/ʔisʼ.baːʕ/,Hobyot fromHawf/ʔiːsʼəbaːʕ/,Soqotri/ʔəsʼ.baʕ/ andArabic/ʔisˤ.baʕ/; meaning 'finger'.
2. From Proto-Semiticṣ́[ɬʼ]:Mehri/ʃʼəf.deːt/,Harsusi/ʃʼəf.daːjt/ vs.Arabic/dˤif.daʕ/; meaning 'frog'.
3. From Proto-Semiticḳ[kʼ]:Jibbali/ʃʼujeːt/vs.Mehri/kʼaːjmət/ andArabic/qijaːma/; meaning ‘judgment day’.

An extra emphatic labial*ṗ occurs in some Semitic languages, but it is unclear whether it was a phoneme in Proto-Semitic.

• The classical Ethiopian Semitic languageGeʽez is unique among Semitic languages for contrasting all three of/p/,/f/, and/pʼ/. While/p/ and/pʼ/ occur mostly in loanwords (especially fromGreek), there are many other occurrences whose origin is less clear (such ashepʼä 'strike',häppälä 'wash clothes').^[4]
• According to Hetzron,Hebrew developed^[when?] an emphatic labial phonemeṗ to represent unaspirated/p/ fromPersian and Greek; this phoneme is not attested in Hebrew orthography.^[5]

GeneralModern Israeli Hebrew andMaltese are notable exceptions among Semitic languages to the presence of emphatic consonants. In both languages, they have been lost under the influence ofIndo-European languages (chieflyYiddish andSicilian, respectively, though other languages may also have had an influence; seerevival of the Hebrew language).

• In Hebrew, the lettertsadi (from Proto-Semiticṯ̣,ṣ,ṣ́) remains distinct, but has been replaced by a non-pharygealizedaffricate/ts/. Emphaticḳ has been merged with plaink in non-lenited positions, but remains distinct post-vocally, where the plain consonant becomes/x/ (phonetically[χ]), while the original emphatic does not. Semiticṭ has been fully merged with plaint.
• In Maltese, only emphaticḳ (spelledq) remains distinct. It is still realised as a uvular stop[q] in a few villages but has otherwise developed into aglottal consonant stop[ʔ]. All other emphatics have been merged into plain consonants. However, they are often still recognizable from special vocalic developments that they triggered before the mergers: comparesejf ('sword', from Arabicسَيْف⁩sayf) withsajf ('summer', from Arabicصَيْف⁩ṣayf). The emphaticṣ prevented thea from beingraised toe as it did with the plains).

• Phonology
• Phonetics
• Semitic linguistics

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