Knacklaut

German

Etymology

knacken +‎ Laut

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈknakˌlaʊ̯t/
  • Audio(file)

Noun

Knacklaut m (strong, genitive Knacklauts or Knacklautes, plural Knacklaute)

  1. (phonetics) glottal stop
    Synonyms: Glottisschlag, Glottalplosiv, Kehlkopfverschluss, Kehlkopfverschlusslaut
    1. (especially) a glottal stop found in null onsets (vowel-initial stems) in German and other languages

Usage notes
  • It is often claimed that Standard German automatically inserts a glottal stop in null onsets, but this is a myth. Any initial glottal stop may be elided in everyday speech. While such pronunciations may be considered substandard, they by themselves belie the claim of an automatic glottal stop. More importantly, however, glottal stops in unstressed onsets are entirely optional and more often than not elided even in formal, careful standard speech.

Declension
Declension of Knacklaut [masculine, strong]
singular plural
indef. def. noun def. noun
nominative ein der Knacklaut die Knacklaute
genitive eines des Knacklauts, Knacklautes der Knacklaute
dative einem dem Knacklaut, Knacklaute1 den Knacklauten
accusative einen den Knacklaut die Knacklaute

1Now rare, see notes.

Further reading
  • “Knacklaut” in Duden online
  • “Knacklaut” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
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