In
linguistics,
creaky voice (sometimes called
laryngealisation,
pulse phonation,
vocal fry, or
glottal fry) is a special kind of
phonation in which the
arytenoid cartilages in the
larynx are drawn together; as a result, the
vocal folds are compressed rather tightly, becoming relatively slack and compact. They vibrate irregularly at 20–50 pulses per second, about two octaves below the frequency of normal voicing, and the airflow through the
glottis is very slow. Although creaky voice may occur with very low pitch, as at the end of a long
intonation unit, it can occur with any pitch.