In Semitic

linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

, an emphatic consonant is an

obstruent An obstruent ( ) is a speech sound such as , , or that is formed by ''obstructing'' airflow. Obstruents contrast with sonorants, which have no such obstruction and so resonate. All obstruents are consonants, but sonorants include vowels as well ...

consonant In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract, except for the h sound, which is pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract. Examples are and pronou ...

which originally contrasted, and often still contrasts, with an analogous

voiced Voice or voicing is a term used in phonetics and phonology to characterize speech sounds (usually consonants). Speech sounds can be described as either voiceless (otherwise known as ''unvoiced'') or voiced. The term, however, is used to refe ...

voiceless In linguistics, voicelessness is the property of sounds being pronounced without the larynx vibrating. Phonologically, it is a type of phonation, which contrasts with other states of the larynx, but some object that the word phonation implies v ...

obstruent by means of a

secondary articulation In phonetics, secondary articulation occurs when the articulation of a consonant is equivalent to the combined articulations of two or three simpler consonants, at least one of which is an approximant. The secondary articulation of such co-articu ...

. In specific Semitic languages, the members of the emphatic series may be realized as uvularized, pharyngealized, velarized or ejective, or by plain voicing contrast; for instance, in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

, 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 other

Afro-Asiatic languages The Afroasiatic languages (also known as Afro-Asiatic, Afrasian, Hamito-Semitic, or Semito-Hamitic) are a language family (or "phylum") of about 400 languages spoken predominantly in West Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and parts of th ...

, where they are typically realized as ejective, implosive or pharyngealized consonants. In Semitic studies, emphatic consonants are commonly transcribed using the convention of placing a dot under the closest plain consonant in the

Latin alphabet The Latin alphabet, also known as the Roman alphabet, is the collection of letters originally used by the Ancient Rome, ancient Romans to write the Latin language. Largely unaltered except several letters splitting—i.e. from , and from � ...

. However, exceptions exist: original emphatic developed into in most Semitic languages; strictly speaking, it has thus ceased to be an emphatic version of and has become a different consonant, being most commonly transcribed as (rather than ) accordingly. Within Arabic, the four emphatic consonants vary in phonetic realization from dialect to dialect, but are typically realized as pharyngealized consonants. In Ethiopian Semitic and Modern South Arabian languages, they are realized as ejective consonants. While these sounds do not necessarily share any particular ''phonetic'' properties in common, most historically derive from a common source. Five such "emphatic" phonemes are reconstructed for Proto-Semitic: An additional emphatic phoneme ( 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, and Bathari), in a few occurrences, no phonological explanation can be given to its occurrence, but it appears to be connected to different phonological developments: # From Proto-Semitic : Mehri , or , Hobyot from Hedemet , Harsusi ''vs''. Jibbali , Hobyot from Hawf , Soqotri and Arabic ; meaning 'finger'. # From Proto-Semitic : Mehri , Harsusi vs. Arabic ; meaning 'frong'. # From Proto-Semitic : Jibbali ''vs''. Mehri and Arabic ; meaning ‘judgment day’. An extra emphatic labial occurs in some Semitic languages, but it is unclear whether it was a phoneme in Proto-Semitic. * The classical Ethiopian Semitic language

Geʽez Geez ( or ; , and sometimes referred to in scholarly literature as Classical Ethiopic) is an ancient South Semitic language. The language originates from what is now Ethiopia and Eritrea. Today, Geez is used as the main liturgical langu ...

is unique among Semitic languages for contrasting all three of , , and . While and occur mostly in loanwords (especially from Greek), there are many other occurrences whose origin is less clear (such as 'strike', 'wash clothes'). * According to Hetzron,

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

developed an emphatic labial phoneme to represent unaspirated from Persian and Greek; this phoneme is not attested in Hebrew orthography. General Modern Israeli Hebrew and Maltese are notable exceptions among Semitic languages to the presence of emphatic consonants. In both languages, they have been lost under the influence of

Indo-European languages The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...

(chiefly

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

and Sicilian, respectively, though other languages may also have had an influence; see revival of the Hebrew language). * In Hebrew, the letter tsadi (from Proto-Semitic , , ) remains distinct, but has been replaced by a non-pharygealized

affricate An affricate is a consonant that begins as a stop and releases as a fricative, generally with the same place of articulation (most often coronal). It is often difficult to decide if a stop and fricative form a single phoneme or a consonant pai ...

. Emphatic has been merged with plain in non- lenited positions, but remains distinct post-vocally, where the plain consonant becomes (phonetically ), while the original emphatic does not. Semitic has been fully merged with plain . * In Maltese, only emphatic (spelled ) remains distinct. It is still realised as a uvular stop in a few villages but has otherwise developed into a

glottal consonant Glottal consonants are consonants using the glottis as their primary articulation. Many phoneticians consider them, or at least the glottal fricative, to be transitional states of the glottis without a point of articulation as other consonants ...

stop . 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: compare (, from Arabic ) with (, from Arabic ). The emphatic prevented the from being raised to as it did with the plain ).

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Emphatic Consonant Phonology Phonetics Semitic linguistics