Glottalization

In CollSgE, stops in final position are often unreleased (represented by the ˺ diacritic), causing the vowels that precede them to become glottalized.

Admittedly a variable phenomenon, the stops may on occasion themselves get deleted so that the word then ends in a glottal stop, as in like [laiʔ] and hit [hiʔ] . Bao (1998: 164) suggests that this is an influence from the phonology of the substrate languages, in particular, Malay and the Chinese dialects. In these languages also, the word-final stops are unreleased, and the vowels that precede them glottalized.

Glottalization also takes place in words beginning with vowels, as indicated in words like a [ʔə] , of [ʔɔf] , eat [ʔit] and apple [ʔεpəl]. Brown (1988: 119) points out that there is no phenomenon of liaison (the linking of the final sound of one syllable or word directly onto the initial sound of the following) in CollSgE, and suggests a relationship between the absence of liaison and the predominance of glottal stops. He hypothesizes that because CollSgE words tend to be separated by glottal stops, this has prevented features associated with liaison (such as linking and intrusive /r/) from arising.