The /ʔ/ is a very short closing of the vocal cords, the break you make in the middle of uh-oh. Many British speakers use it instead of in words like bottle, football and what time. You need to recognise it, but you do not need to copy it.
What is a glottal stop?
The glottis is the space between your vocal cords. A is made when you close them completely for a moment and then let them open. No air escapes during the stop. It is a tiny silence made in the throat, not with the tongue or lips.
You already make this sound. Say 'uh-oh' slowly. The small catch between the two parts is a glottal stop. In the phonemic alphabet it is written /ʔ/, a question mark without the dot.
Where you hear it in British English
In many British accents, and especially in London and much of England, the sound is often replaced by a when it comes at the end of a word before another , or in the middle of a word before a weak . This is called t-glottalling.
Many speakers who are described as having a standard accent also glottalise the in some places, mostly before a consonant, so you will hear it on the radio, on TV and in the IELTS Listening test, where the recordings use a range of English accents.
- bottle /ˈbɒtl/ (careful: with ) · bottle [ˈbɒʔl] (glottal stop)
- football /ˈfʊtbɔːl/ (careful: with ) · football [ˈfʊʔbɔːl] (glottal stop)
- what time /wɒt taɪm/ (careful: with ) · what time [wɒʔ taɪm] (glottal stop)
- not now /nɒt naʊ/ (careful: with ) · not now [nɒʔ naʊ] (glottal stop)
Where you do NOT hear it
A at the start of a word or at the start of a is almost always a clear : tea, ten, attend, tomorrow. A does not replace it there. A between two in careful speech, as in city or later, is also normally clear, although some accents change it.
The glottal stop is a choice made by speakers, not a mistake. In careful, formal speech most speakers use a clear . So you can leave the glottal stop out and still sound natural and clear.
Should you use it?
No, you do not need to. For the Speaking test, a clear is easier for listeners to understand and is always acceptable. Using a will not make your English better, and if you use it in the wrong place, it can sound strange.
What you do need is to recognise it when you listen. If you hear 'ba'le', 'fu'ball' or 'wha' time', do not stop. Think: the speaker has replaced a with a stop in the throat, and the word is bottle, football and what time.
The other glottal stop: a habit to avoid
Some learners, including Arabic and German speakers, put a before every word that starts with a , which can make speech sound choppy: 'an-(stop)-apple', 'I-(stop)-am'. It is better to link the words smoothly: 'an apple' sounds like 'a-napple', and 'I am' sounds like 'I-yam'.
Link the final of one word to the vowel of the next, and the break disappears.
Three phrases to recognise
Learn to hear the in the phrases that learners meet most. In each one, the speaker closes the throat quickly instead of making the usual puff of air for .
- better: said like be-(stop)-uh in some London speech, but also with a clear by many speakers.
- get up: said like ge(stop) up, with a tiny stop after the first word.
- a lot of: said like a lo(stop) of, with a short stop where the would be.
How to make it and practise it
You can make a on purpose by saying 'uh-oh' and then removing the , leaving only the catch. Then put it into a word: bot-le. If you want to understand it better, listen to British radio or videos and notice words such as 'that car', 'quite good' and 'get back'.
Practise listening with a short clip, and write down five words where you hear a stop instead of a .
- Say 'uh-oh' and feel the catch in your throat.
- Say bottle, football and what time with a , then with a glottal stop, and hear the difference.
- Listen to a British speaker and find five glottal stops.
- In your own speech, use a clear .
How to make the sound
- Say 'uh-oh' slowly and notice the catch in your throat between the two sounds.
- Close your vocal cords and let no air through for a moment, then release them.
- Compare with : for the tongue tip touches the ridge behind your teeth and then releases a puff of air.
- The uses no tongue and no lips: it is made only in the throat.
Who finds this hard?
- Arabic speakers: Arabic has a of its own (hamza), so you may add one before . In English it should not be added: link the words smoothly.
IELTS tip
The IELTS Listening test uses a range of English accents, so you may hear t-glottalling. When a word seems to have a missing t, think of the whole word and use the topic. In your own Speaking test, a clear is always a safe choice.
Frequently asked questions
What is a glottal stop?
It is a short closing of the vocal cords, written /ʔ/, as in the middle of uh-oh.
Do all British people use a glottal stop?
No. It is common in many accents, but speakers differ, and most use a clear in careful speech.
Is it wrong to say in bottle?
No. A clear is correct and easy to understand.
Is the glottal stop in the phonemic chart?
No. It is not one of the 44 sounds, because it replaces rather than being a separate sound that changes meaning.
Sources
- Roach, P. (2009). English Phonetics and Phonology: A Practical Course (4th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- Cruttenden, A. (2014). Gimson's Pronunciation of English (8th ed.). Routledge.
- Wells, J. C. (1982). Accents of English (vol. 1: An Introduction). Cambridge University Press.