Voice (phonetics)
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In phonetics, voice or voicing is one of the three major parameters used to describe a sound, along with place of articulation and manner of articulation. It is usually treated as a binary parameter with sounds being described as either voiceless (unvoiced) or voiced, although in fact there can be degrees of voicing (see below).
A voiced sound is one in which the vocal cords vibrate, and a voiceless sound is one in which they do not. Voicing is the difference between pairs of sounds such as Template:IPA and Template:IPA in English. If you place your fingers on your voice box (ie the location of the Adam's apple in the upper throat), you can feel a vibration when you pronounce zzzz, but not when you pronounce ssss. (For a more detailed, technical explanation, see phonation.)
Vowels are usually voiced. Consonants may be voiced or unvoiced.
Contents |
Voiceless and voiced consonants
| Voiceless consonant | Voiced equivalent |
|---|---|
| Template:IPA | Template:IPA |
| Template:IPA | Template:IPA |
| Template:IPA | Template:IPA |
| Template:IPA (church) | Template:IPA (judge) |
| Template:IPA | Template:IPA |
| Template:IPA (thing, thigh) | Template:IPA (them, thy) |
| Template:IPA | Template:IPA |
| Template:IPA (pressure, Aleutian [in some dialects]) | Template:IPA (pleasure, allusion) |
Consonants which commonly come in voiced and voiceless pairs like these are called 'obstruents'. Voiceless consonants are usually articulated more strongly than their voiced counterparts, because in voiced consonants, the airflow energy used in pronunciation is split between the laryngeal vibration and the oral articulation.
Voiceless vowels
The IPA diacritic for voicelessness is the under-ring, Template:IPA. This is used where no separate symbol is available, for example for voiceless vowels.
Vowels may be voiceless, usually allophonically. For example, the Japanese word sukiyaki is pronounced Template:IPA. This may sound like Template:IPA to an English speaker, but the lips can be seen compressing for the Template:IPA. Something very similar happens in English with words like peculiar and particular.
Voicing in English
Beside the pairs of voiceless and voiced 'obstruent' consonants given above, other voiced sounds in English are the nasals: ie Template:IPA, the approximants ie Template:IPA (the latter spelled "y"), and the vowels. These sounds are called 'sonorants'. Distinctive voiceless sonorants do occur, but are relatively rare.
In most languages, the difference between Template:IPA and Template:IPA is that Template:IPA are voiced, while Template:IPA are not. However, in English, the main distinction is not that Template:IPA are voiced, but rather that Template:IPA are aspirated. That is, they differ in when voicing starts. In most English dialects, Template:IPA are partially voiceless in some environments, such as word initially. In fact, after an Template:IPA, the contrast between Template:IPA and Template:IPA is lost; when a child learning English has acquired voicing distinctions, but not yet acquired the clusters Template:IPA, the child's pronunciation of spy, sty, sky sounds to an adult like buy, die, guy.
Degrees of voicing
There are two variables to degrees of voicing: intensity (discussed under phonation), and duration (discussed under voice onset time). When a sound is described as "half voiced" or "partially voiced", it is not always clear whether that means that the voicing is weak (low intensity), or if the voicing only occurs during part of the sound (short duration). In the case of English, it is the latter.
See also
de:Stimmlosigkeit fi:Soinnillinen äänne fi:Soinniton äänne ko:유성음 ko:무성음 nl:Stemhebbend nl:Stemloos ja:有声音 ja:無声音 no:Stemt konsonant no:Ustemt konsonant ro:Consoană sonoră ro:Consoană surdă sv:Tonande konsonant sv:Tonlös konsonant