The glottis is the collection of vocal folds as well as the space within the folds, which are called the rima glottidis. Voice, pronunciation or voicing comes from the sounds that occur when the vocal folds vibrate. When sound is produced and only the glottis is involved, this is referred to as glottal. In the English language, the letter "h" has a glottal fricative that is voiceless. Other voiceless consonants include f, s, p, t, k and h. Players who are skilled at playing the didgeridoo in Australia are able to restrict the opening of their glottis so that they can produce the entire range that is available on the instrument. The vibration that is produced is an important part of the voiced vowels and consonants. When the vocal folds are apart from each other, there is no vibration because the air is flowing between them, which is the same with voiceless consonants. Some of the voiced consonants include v, z, b, d, g and w.
Written and medically reviewed by the Healthline Editorial Team
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In Depth: Epiglottis

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