Voiceless uvular–epiglottal plosive

A voiceless uvular-epiglottal plosive is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. It is a [q] and [ʡ] pronounced simultaneously. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ⟨q͡ʡ⟩.

Features of a voiceless uvular-epiglottal plosive are:

• Its manner of articulation is occlusive, which means it is produced by obstructing airflow in the vocal tract. Since the consonant is also oral, with no nasal outlet, the airflow is blocked entirely, and the consonant is a plosive.
• Its place of articulation is uvular–epiglottal, which means that it is simultaneously articulated with the back part of the tongue (the dorsum) against the uvula and the epiglottis. The laryngeal closure is made and released slightly before the dorsal closure, but they overlap for most of their duration.

• Its phonation is voiceless, which means it is produced without vibrations of the vocal cords. In some languages the vocal cords are actively separated, so it is always voiceless; in others the cords are lax, so that it may take on the voicing of adjacent sounds.
• It is an oral consonant, which means that air is not allowed to escape through the nose.
• It is a median consonant, which means it is produced by directing the airstream down the midline of the tongue, rather than to the sides.
• Its airstream mechanism is pulmonic, which means it is articulated by pushing air only with the intercostal muscles and abdominal muscles, as in most sounds.