Pharyngealization

Okay kiddo, so you know how when you eat food or drink water, it goes down your throat and into your stomach? Well, your throat is actually made up of different parts, one of which is called the pharynx.

Now, people speaking different languages use their pharynx in different ways to make different sounds. When they use their pharynx to create certain sounds, we call it pharyngealization.

For example, in Arabic, they make a sound that is kind of like a growling noise, and that sound is made by pharyngealizing the letter “ayn.”

It’s kind of like making a rumbling noise in the back of your throat.

So, pharyngealization is basically using your throat in a special way to make different sounds when you speak different languages.