You can helpexpand this article with text translated fromthe corresponding article in French. (March 2025)Click [show] for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the French article. Machine translation, likeDeepL orGoogle Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Consideradding a topic to this template: there are already 1,154 articles in themain category, and specifying|topic= will aid in categorization. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. Youmust providecopyright attribution in theedit summary accompanying your translation by providing aninterlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary isContent in this edit is translated from the existing French Wikipedia article at [[:fr:Coup de glotte (lettre)]]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template{{Translated|fr|Coup de glotte (lettre)}} to thetalk page. For more guidance, seeWikipedia:Translation.

This articlerelies largely or entirely on asingle source. Relevant discussion may be found on thetalk page. Please helpimprove this article byintroducing citations to additional sources. Find sources: "Glottal stop" letter – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(February 2017)

Glottal stop
ʔ Ɂ ɂ ˀ
7
Usage
Writing system	Latin script
Type	alphabetic
Sound values	/ʔ/
History
Development	◌̓ ʔ Ɂ ɂ ˀ
Variations	7
Other
Associated graphs	ʼ
Writing direction	left-to-right
This article containsphonetic transcriptions in theInternational Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, seeHelp:IPA. For the distinction between[ ],/ / and ⟨ ⟩, seeIPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

ʔ (majuscule:Ɂ, minuscule:ɂ), calledglottal stop, is analphabetic letter in someLatin alphabets, most notably in severallanguages of Canada where it indicates aglottal stop sound. Such usage derives fromphonetic transcription, for example theInternational Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), that use this letter for the glottal stop sound. The letter derives graphically from use of theapostrophe⟨ʼ⟩ or the symbolʾ for glottal stop.

Where⟨ʔ⟩ is not available, not being in the basic Latin alphabet, it is sometimes replaced by aquestion mark⟨?⟩, which is its official representation in theSAMPA transcription scheme. InSkwomesh or Squamish,⟨ʔ⟩ may be replaced by the digit⟨7⟩ (see image below right).

In Unicode, four graphic variants of the glottal stop letter are available.

• Unicase⟨ʔ⟩ (U+0294 ʔLATIN LETTER GLOTTAL STOP) is provided for theInternational Phonetic Alphabet andAmericanist phonetic notation. It is found in a number of orthographies that use the IPA/APA symbol, such as those of severalSalishan languages.
• A case pair, uppercase⟨Ɂ⟩ (U+0241 ɁLATIN CAPITAL LETTER GLOTTAL STOP) and lowercase⟨ɂ⟩ (U+0242 ɂLATIN SMALL LETTER GLOTTAL STOP), is provided for the orthographies ofAthabaskan languages in theNorthwest Territories. Uppercase⟨Ɂ⟩ may be slightly wider than unicase⟨ʔ⟩ in fonts that distinguish them.
• Superscript⟨ˀ⟩ (U+02C0 ˀMODIFIER LETTER GLOTTAL STOP) that is used inCayuga, the IPA and theUralic Phonetic Alphabet.

Other common symbols for the glottal stop sound are variants of the punctuation mark apostrophe that was the historical basis of the glottal stop letters. These include the 9-shapedmodifier letter apostrophe,⟨ʼ⟩, which is probably the most common (and the direct ancestor of⟨ʔ⟩), the 6-shapedʻokina ofHawaiian,⟨ʻ⟩, and the straight-apostrophe shapedsaltillo of manylanguages of Mexico, which has the case forms⟨Ꞌ ꞌ⟩.

• Americanist phonetic notation and theInternational Phonetic Alphabet—unicase ʔ or superscript ˀ
• Transcription of Australian Aboriginal languages—occasionally unicase ʔ
• Uralic Phonetic Alphabet—superscript ˀ only

• Languages of Canada
  • Chipewyan—uppercase Ɂ and lowercase ɂ
  • Dogrib—uppercase Ɂ and lowercase ɂ
  • Kootenai—unicase ʔ
  • Musqueam language—unicase ʔ
  • Nootka—unicase ʔ
  • Slavey—uppercase Ɂ and lowercase ɂ
  • Nitinaht—unicase ʔ
  • Thompson—unicase ʔ
  • Lushootseed—unicase ʔ
  • Squamish language, where it is sometimes represented with⟨7⟩.
  • Tuscarora—uppercase Ɂ and lowercase ɂ
• Cameroon
  • Mendankwe-Nkwen—uppercase Ɂ and lowercase ɂ
• Côte d’Ivoire
  • Abidji—unicase ʔ
  • Cebaara—unicase ʔ
  • Nyarafolo—unicase ʔ
  • Tagwana—unicase ʔ
• Mali
  • Tamasheq—unicase ʔ
• Senegal
  • Hassanya—unicase ʔ as uppercase and lowercase ʼ
  • Laalaa—uppercase Ɂ and lowercase ʼ

InUnicode 1.0, only the unicase and superscript variants were included. In version 4.1 (2005), an uppercase character was added, and the existing unicase character was redefined as its lowercase. Then, in version 5.0 (2006), it was decided to separate the cased and caseless usages by adding a dedicated lowercase letter. The IPA character is first from left, while the extended Latin alphabet characters are third and fourth from left.^[1]

• Media related toGlottal stop letters at Wikimedia Commons

• Phonetic transcription symbols

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