voiceless pharyngeal fricative

{{Short description|Consonantal sound represented by ⟨ħ⟩ in IPA}}

{{Infobox IPA

|ipa symbol=ħ

|ipa number=144

|decimal1=295

|x-sampa=X\

|kirshenbaum=H

|braille=!

|braille2=h

|imagefile=IPA Unicode 0x0127.svg

|imagesize=150px

}}

The voiceless pharyngeal fricative is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is an h-bar, {{angbr IPA|ħ}}, and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is X\. In the transcription of Arabic, Berber (and other Afro-Asiatic languages) as well as a few other scripts, it is often written {{angbr|Ḥ}}, {{angbr|ḥ}}.

Typically characterized as fricative in the upper pharynx, it is often characterized as a whispered {{IPAblink|h}}.

Features

Features of the voiceless pharyngeal fricative:

Occurrence

This sound is the most commonly cited realization of the Semitic letter hēth, which occurs in all dialects of Arabic, Classical Syriac, Western Neo-Aramaic, Central Neo-Aramaic, Ge'ez, Tigre, Tigrinya as well as Biblical, Mishnaic and Mizrahi Hebrew. It has also been reconstructed as appearing in Ancient Egyptian, a related Afro-Asiatic language. Assyrian Neo-Aramaic, Ashkenazi Hebrew and most speakers of Modern Hebrew have merged the voiceless pharyngeal fricative with the voiceless velar (or uvular) fricative. However, phonetic studies have shown that the so-called voiceless pharyngeal fricatives of Semitic languages are often neither pharyngeal (but rather epiglottal) nor fricatives (but rather approximants).{{Harvcoltxt|Ladefoged|Maddieson|1996|pp=167–168}}

class="wikitable" ! colspan="2" \| Language !! Word !! IPA !! Meaning !! Notes
colspan="2" \| Abaza	{{lang\|abq\|хIахъвы}}/{{Transliteration\|abq\|kh{{`}}akh"vy}}	{{IPA\|[ħaqʷə]}}	'stone'
colspan="2" \| Abkhaz	{{lang\|ab\|ҳара}}/{{Transliteration\|ab\|khara}}	{{IPA\|[ħaˈra]}}	'we'	See Abkhaz phonology
colspan="2" \| Adyghe	{{lang\|ady-Cyrl\|тхьэ}}/{{Transliteration\|ady\|tkh{{`}}ė}}/{{lang\|ady-Arab\|تحە}}	{{Audio-IPA\|Tħa.ogg\|[tħa]}}	'god'
colspan="2" \|Afar \|dalcu \|{{IPA\|[dʌlħu]}} \|'striped hyena' \|
colspan="2" \| Agul	{{lang\|agx\|мухI}}/{{Transliteration\|agx\|mukh{{`}}}}	{{IPA\|[muħ]}}	'barn'
colspan="2" \| Amis{{Cite book \|last1=Maddieson \|first1=Ian \|title=Fieldwork Studies of Targeted Languages III \|last2=Wright \|first2=Richard \|date=October 1995 \|series=UCLA Working Papers in Phonetics Volume 91 \|pages=45–65 \|language=en \|chapter=The Vowels and Consonants of Amis — A Preliminary Phonetic Report \|chapter-url=https://escholarship.org/content/qt3h25w3h3/qt3h25w3h3.pdf#page=48}}	{{lang\|ami\|tuduh}}	{{IPA\|[tuɮuħ]}}	'burn, roast'	Word-final allophone of /{{IPA link\|ʜ}}/.
rowspan="2" \| Arabic{{Harvcoltxt\|Watson\|2002\|p=19}} \| Standard	{{lang\|ar\|ح‍ال\|rtl=yes}}/{{Transliteration\|ar\|ḥāl}}	{{Audio-IPA\|Hal.ogg\|[ħaːl]}}	'situation'	See Arabic phonology
Essaouira{{sfnp\|Francisco\|2019\|p=89}} \|{{lang\|ar\|شلوح\|rtl=yes}} ({{Transliteration\|ar\|šlūḥ}}) \|{{IPA\|[ʃlɵːħ]}} \|'chleuh' \|
colspan="2" \| Archi	{{lang\|aqc\|хIал}}/{{Transliteration\|aqc\|kh{{`}}al}}	{{IPA\|[ħal]}}	'state'
Central Neo-Aramaic	Turoyo	{{lang\|tru\|ܡܫܝܚܐ}} ({{Transliteration\|tru\|mšìḥo}})	{{IPA\|[mʃiːħɔ]}}	'Christ'	Corresponds with [x] in most other dialects.
colspan="2" \|Atayal \|{{lang\|tay\|hiyan}} \|{{IPA\|[ħijan]}} \|'in/at/on him/her/it' \|
colspan="2" \| Avar	{{lang\|av\|xIебецI}}/{{Transliteration\|av\|kh{{`}}ebets{{`}}}}/{{lang\|av-Arab\|حېبېض}}	{{IPA\|[ħeˈbetsʼ]}}	'earwax'
colspan="2" \| Azerbaijani	{{lang\|az\|əhdaş}}	{{IPA\|[æħd̪ɑʃ]}}	'instrument'
colspan="2" \| Chechen	{{lang\|ce-Cyrl\|xьач}}/{{lang\|ce-Latn\|ẋaç}}/{{lang\|ce-Arab\|حـاچ}}	{{Audio-IPA\|Ce-хьач.oga\|[ħatʃ]}}	'plum'
English	Some speakers, mostly of Received Pronunciation{{sfnp\|Collins\|Mees\|2003\|p=148}}	horrible	{{IPA\|[ħɒɹɪbəl]}}	'horrible'	Glottal {{IPAblink\|h}} for other speakers.{{sfnp\|Collins\|Mees\|2003\|p=148}} See English phonology
French{{cite thesis \|last1=Mager \|first1=Irene \|date=1974 \|title=A critical analysis of the teaching of French phonology \|id={{ProQuest\|193965929}} \|oclc=9841438 }}	Some speakers	{{lang\|fr\|faire}}	{{IPA\|[feː(ă)ħ]}}	'to do, to make'
Galician{{Harvcoltxt\|Regueira\|1996\|p=120}}	Some dialects	{{lang\|gl\|gato}}	{{IPA\|[ˈħatʊ]}}	'cat'	Corresponds to {{IPA\|/ɡ/}} in other dialects. See Galician phonology and gheada
rowspan="2"\| Hebrew	Mizrahi	{{lang\|he\|חַשְׁמַל\|rtl=yes}}/{{Transliteration\|he\|ḥašmal}}	{{Audio-IPA\|Hashmal.ogg\|[ħaʃˈmal]}}	'electricity'	Merged with {{IPAblink\|χ}} for most modern speakers. See Modern Hebrew phonology.
Temani	{{lang\|he\|אֶחָדֿ}}/aḥoḏ	{{IPA\|[æˈħɔð]}}	'one'	Yemenite pronunciation of the letter chet. Merged with {{IPA\|/{{IPA link\|χ}}/}} in most other dialects. See Yemenite Hebrew
Leonese \|Riberan \|{{lang\|ast-es\|harina}} \|{{IPA\|[ħaˈɾi.na]}} \|'flour' \|
Judaeo-Spanish	Haketia	{{lang\|lad\|Ḥaketía}}	{{IPA\|[ħakeˈti.a]}}	'Haketia'	Borrowed from Arabic and Hebrew
colspan="2" \| Kabardian	{{lang\|kbd-Cyrl\|кхъухь}}/{{lang\|kbd-Latn\|ꝗvɦ}}/{{lang\|kbd-Arab\|ٯّوح}}	{{Audio-IPA\|Qhoh.ogg\|[q͡χʷəħ]}}	'ship'
colspan="2" \| Kabyle	{{lang\|kab-Tfng\|ⴰⵃⴻⴼⴼⴰⴼ}}/{{lang\|kab-Latn\|aḥeffaf}}/{{lang\|kab-Arab\|احـفاف}}	{{IPA\|[aħəfːaf]}}	'hairdresser'
colspan="2" \| Kullui		{{IPA\|[biːħ]}}	'twenty'	{{IPA\|/ħ/}} historically derives from {{IPA\|/s/}} and occurs word-finally{{sfn\|Thakur\|1975\|p=181}}
Kurdish	Most speakers	{{lang\|ku\|ḧol}}	{{Audio-IPA\|Ku-hol.oga\|[ħol]}}	'environment'	Corresponds to {{IPA\|/h/}} in some Kurdish dialects
Maltese	Standard	{{lang\|mt\|wieħed}}	{{IPA\|[wiːħet]}}	'one'
colspan="2" \| Nuu-chah-nulth	{{lang\|nuk\|ʔaap-ḥii}}	{{IPA\|[ʔaːpˈħiː]}}	'friendly'
Sioux	Nakota	{{lang\|sto\|haxdanahâ}}	{{IPA\|[haħdanahã]}}	'yesterday'
colspan="2" \| Somali	{{lang\|so\|xood}}/{{lang\|so-Arab\|حٗـود}}/{{lang\|so-Osma\|𐒄𐒝𐒆}}	{{Audio-IPA\|So-xood.oga\|[ħoːd]}}	'cane'	See Somali phonology
colspan="2" \| Tarifit	{{lang\|rif\|ḥemm/ⵀⵎ}}	{{IPA\|[ħem]}}	'goodbye'
colspan="2" \| Ukrainian{{Harvcoltxt\|Danyenko\|Vakulenko\|1995\|p=12}}	{{lang\|uk\|нігті}}/{{Transliteration\|uk\|nihti}}	{{IPA\|[ˈnʲiħtʲi]}}	'fingernails'	Allophone of {{IPA\|/ʕ/}} (which may be transcribed {{IPA\|/ɦ/}}) before voiceless consonants; can be fronted to {{IPAblink\|x}} in some "weak positions". See Ukrainian phonology

Notes

References

{{Citation

|last1=Collins

|first1=Beverley

|last2=Mees

|first2=Inger M.

|year=2003

|orig-year=First published 1981

|title=The Phonetics of English and Dutch

|edition=5th

|place=Leiden

|publisher=Brill Publishers

|isbn=978-90-04-10340-5

}}

{{citation

|last1=Danyenko

|first1=Andrii

|last2=Vakulenko

|first2=Serhii

|year=1995

|title=Ukrainian

|publisher=Lincom Europa

|isbn=978-3-929075-08-3

}}

{{citation

|last1=Ladefoged

|first1=Peter

|author-link=Peter Ladefoged

|last2=Maddieson

|first2=Ian

|author-link2=Ian Maddieson

|year=1996

|title=The sounds of the World's Languages

|location=Oxford

|publisher=Blackwell

|isbn=978-0-631-19815-4

}}

{{cite journal

|last=Regueira

|first=Xose

|year=1996

|title=Galician

|journal=Journal of the International Phonetic Association

|volume=26

|issue=2

|pages=119–122

|doi=10.1017/s0025100300006162

|s2cid=241094214

}}

{{citation

|last=Watson

|first=Janet

|year=2002

|title=The Phonology and Morphology of Arabic

|place=New York

|publisher=Oxford University Press

|isbn=978-0-19-824137-9

}}

{{cite thesis|title=O dialeto árabe de Essaouira: documentação e descrição de uma variedade do sul do Marrocos |trans-title=The Arabic Dialect of Essaouira: Documentation and Description of a Southern Moroccan Variety |language=pt|last=Francisco|first=Felipe Benjamin|s2cid=214469852|publisher=University of São Paulo|place=São Paulo|year=2019|doi=10.11606/T.8.2019.tde-29102019-180034|type=PhD|doi-access=free}}

External links

{{phoible|ħ}}

Category:Fricative consonants

Category:Pharyngeal consonants

Category:Pulmonic consonants

Category:Voiceless oral consonants

Category:Maltese language

class="wikitable" ! colspan="2" \| Language !! Word !! IPA !! Meaning !! Notes
colspan="2" \| Abaza	{{lang\|abq\|хIахъвы}}/{{Transliteration\|abq\|kh{{`}}akh"vy}}	{{IPA\|[ħaqʷə]}}	'stone'
colspan="2" \| Abkhaz	{{lang\|ab\|ҳара}}/{{Transliteration\|ab\|khara}}	{{IPA\|[ħaˈra]}}	'we'	See Abkhaz phonology
colspan="2" \| Adyghe	{{lang\|ady-Cyrl\|тхьэ}}/{{Transliteration\|ady\|tkh{{`}}ė}}/{{lang\|ady-Arab\|تحە}}	{{Audio-IPA\|Tħa.ogg\|[tħa]}}	'god'
colspan="2" \|Afar \|dalcu \|{{IPA\|[dʌlħu]}} \|'striped hyena' \|
colspan="2" \| Agul	{{lang\|agx\|мухI}}/{{Transliteration\|agx\|mukh{{`}}}}	{{IPA\|[muħ]}}	'barn'
colspan="2" \| Amis{{Cite book \|last1=Maddieson \|first1=Ian \|title=Fieldwork Studies of Targeted Languages III \|last2=Wright \|first2=Richard \|date=October 1995 \|series=UCLA Working Papers in Phonetics Volume 91 \|pages=45–65 \|language=en \|chapter=The Vowels and Consonants of Amis — A Preliminary Phonetic Report \|chapter-url=https://escholarship.org/content/qt3h25w3h3/qt3h25w3h3.pdf#page=48}}	{{lang\|ami\|tuduh}}	{{IPA\|[tuɮuħ]}}	'burn, roast'	Word-final allophone of /{{IPA link\|ʜ}}/.
rowspan="2" \| Arabic{{Harvcoltxt\|Watson\|2002\|p=19}} \| Standard	{{lang\|ar\|ح‍ال\|rtl=yes}}/{{Transliteration\|ar\|ḥāl}}	{{Audio-IPA\|Hal.ogg\|[ħaːl]}}	'situation'	See Arabic phonology
Essaouira{{sfnp\|Francisco\|2019\|p=89}} \|{{lang\|ar\|شلوح\|rtl=yes}} ({{Transliteration\|ar\|šlūḥ}}) \|{{IPA\|[ʃlɵːħ]}} \|'chleuh' \|
colspan="2" \| Archi	{{lang\|aqc\|хIал}}/{{Transliteration\|aqc\|kh{{`}}al}}	{{IPA\|[ħal]}}	'state'
Central Neo-Aramaic	Turoyo	{{lang\|tru\|ܡܫܝܚܐ}} ({{Transliteration\|tru\|mšìḥo}})	{{IPA\|[mʃiːħɔ]}}	'Christ'	Corresponds with [x] in most other dialects.
colspan="2" \|Atayal \|{{lang\|tay\|hiyan}} \|{{IPA\|[ħijan]}} \|'in/at/on him/her/it' \|
colspan="2" \| Avar	{{lang\|av\|xIебецI}}/{{Transliteration\|av\|kh{{`}}ebets{{`}}}}/{{lang\|av-Arab\|حېبېض}}	{{IPA\|[ħeˈbetsʼ]}}	'earwax'
colspan="2" \| Azerbaijani	{{lang\|az\|əhdaş}}	{{IPA\|[æħd̪ɑʃ]}}	'instrument'
colspan="2" \| Chechen	{{lang\|ce-Cyrl\|xьач}}/{{lang\|ce-Latn\|ẋaç}}/{{lang\|ce-Arab\|حـاچ}}	{{Audio-IPA\|Ce-хьач.oga\|[ħatʃ]}}	'plum'
English	Some speakers, mostly of Received Pronunciation{{sfnp\|Collins\|Mees\|2003\|p=148}}	horrible	{{IPA\|[ħɒɹɪbəl]}}	'horrible'	Glottal {{IPAblink\|h}} for other speakers.{{sfnp\|Collins\|Mees\|2003\|p=148}} See English phonology
French{{cite thesis \|last1=Mager \|first1=Irene \|date=1974 \|title=A critical analysis of the teaching of French phonology \|id={{ProQuest\|193965929}} \|oclc=9841438 }}	Some speakers	{{lang\|fr\|faire}}	{{IPA\|[feː(ă)ħ]}}	'to do, to make'
Galician{{Harvcoltxt\|Regueira\|1996\|p=120}}	Some dialects	{{lang\|gl\|gato}}	{{IPA\|[ˈħatʊ]}}	'cat'	Corresponds to {{IPA\|/ɡ/}} in other dialects. See Galician phonology and gheada
rowspan="2"\| Hebrew	Mizrahi	{{lang\|he\|חַשְׁמַל\|rtl=yes}}/{{Transliteration\|he\|ḥašmal}}	{{Audio-IPA\|Hashmal.ogg\|[ħaʃˈmal]}}	'electricity'	Merged with {{IPAblink\|χ}} for most modern speakers. See Modern Hebrew phonology.
Temani	{{lang\|he\|אֶחָדֿ}}/aḥoḏ	{{IPA\|[æˈħɔð]}}	'one'	Yemenite pronunciation of the letter chet. Merged with {{IPA\|/{{IPA link\|χ}}/}} in most other dialects. See Yemenite Hebrew
Leonese \|Riberan \|{{lang\|ast-es\|harina}} \|{{IPA\|[ħaˈɾi.na]}} \|'flour' \|
Judaeo-Spanish	Haketia	{{lang\|lad\|Ḥaketía}}	{{IPA\|[ħakeˈti.a]}}	'Haketia'	Borrowed from Arabic and Hebrew
colspan="2" \| Kabardian	{{lang\|kbd-Cyrl\|кхъухь}}/{{lang\|kbd-Latn\|ꝗvɦ}}/{{lang\|kbd-Arab\|ٯّوح}}	{{Audio-IPA\|Qhoh.ogg\|[q͡χʷəħ]}}	'ship'
colspan="2" \| Kabyle	{{lang\|kab-Tfng\|ⴰⵃⴻⴼⴼⴰⴼ}}/{{lang\|kab-Latn\|aḥeffaf}}/{{lang\|kab-Arab\|احـفاف}}	{{IPA\|[aħəfːaf]}}	'hairdresser'
colspan="2" \| Kullui		{{IPA\|[biːħ]}}	'twenty'	{{IPA\|/ħ/}} historically derives from {{IPA\|/s/}} and occurs word-finally{{sfn\|Thakur\|1975\|p=181}}
Kurdish	Most speakers	{{lang\|ku\|ḧol}}	{{Audio-IPA\|Ku-hol.oga\|[ħol]}}	'environment'	Corresponds to {{IPA\|/h/}} in some Kurdish dialects
Maltese	Standard	{{lang\|mt\|wieħed}}	{{IPA\|[wiːħet]}}	'one'
colspan="2" \| Nuu-chah-nulth	{{lang\|nuk\|ʔaap-ḥii}}	{{IPA\|[ʔaːpˈħiː]}}	'friendly'
Sioux	Nakota	{{lang\|sto\|haxdanahâ}}	{{IPA\|[haħdanahã]}}	'yesterday'
colspan="2" \| Somali	{{lang\|so\|xood}}/{{lang\|so-Arab\|حٗـود}}/{{lang\|so-Osma\|𐒄𐒝𐒆}}	{{Audio-IPA\|So-xood.oga\|[ħoːd]}}	'cane'	See Somali phonology
colspan="2" \| Tarifit	{{lang\|rif\|ḥemm/ⵀⵎ}}	{{IPA\|[ħem]}}	'goodbye'
colspan="2" \| Ukrainian{{Harvcoltxt\|Danyenko\|Vakulenko\|1995\|p=12}}	{{lang\|uk\|нігті}}/{{Transliteration\|uk\|nihti}}	{{IPA\|[ˈnʲiħtʲi]}}	'fingernails'	Allophone of {{IPA\|/ʕ/}} (which may be transcribed {{IPA\|/ɦ/}}) before voiceless consonants; can be fronted to {{IPAblink\|x}} in some "weak positions". See Ukrainian phonology