Radical consonant

Radical consonants are those consonants articulated with the root (base) of the tongue in the throat. They include the pharyngeal and epiglottal places of articulation.

The term "radical" was coined to help disambiguate "pharyngeal", which had come to mean any consonant articulated in the throat, whether the articulator was the back of the tongue ("high" pharyngeals) or the epiglottis ("low" pharyngeals). However, the term "pharyngeal" is still commonly used in the broader sense, and authors such as Miller (2005) prefer guttural, which may include glottal consonants as well.

References

*SOWL
*Miller, Amanda (2005), "Guttural vowels and guttural co-articulation in Ju|’hoansi". "Journal of Phonetics," vol. 35, Issue 1, January 2007, pp 56-84.