Tagalog Final Glottal Stops

Some final vowels end with a glottal stop when followed by a pause (e.g. comma, period). When not followed by a pause, these vowels are elongated instead. In this book, these final glottal stops or long vowels are marked with the symbol /’/. Examples:

tama’	right, correct
hindi’	not
naligo’	took a shower or a bath, washed (one’s body)

Pronunciation when used in a sentence:

Tama’, hindi siya naligo’.

Right, he/she didn’t wash.

Note: When /’/ is not followed by a space, it represents one or more omitted letters, instead of a glottal stop or a long vowel. Examples:

bawa’t	each, every
siya’y	he/she’s
‘yan	that (near you)*

* See also: Clarification: near me etc. (p. 47)

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