Voice (phonetics)
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In phonetics, voice or voicing is one of the three major parameters used to describe a sound. 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 [s] and [z] in English. If one places the fingers on the voice box (ie the location of the Adam's apple in the upper throat), one can feel a vibration when one pronounces zzzz, but not when one pronounces ssss. (For a more detailed, technical explanation, see phonation.)
Vowels are usually voiced. Consonants may be voiced or unvoiced.
Contents |
[edit] English examples
| Voiceless consonant (surd) | Voiced equivalent |
|---|---|
| [p] (pin) | [b] (bin) |
| [t] (ten) | [d] (den) |
| [k] (con) | [g] (gone) |
| [tʃ] (chin) | [dʒ] (gin) |
| [f] (fan) | [v](van) |
| [θ] (thin, thigh) | [ð] (then, thy) |
| [s] (sip) | [z] (zip) |
| [ʃ] (pressure) | [ʒ] (pleasure) |
Obstruents commonly come in voiced and voiceless pairs like those above. 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.
[edit] Voiceless vowels and other sonorants
The IPA diacritic for voicelessness is the under-ring, [ ̥]. 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 [su̥kijaki]. This may sound like [skijaki] to an English speaker, but the lips can be seen compressing for the [u̥]. Something very similar happens in English with words like peculiar and particular.
Types of consonants which are usually voiced (sonorants) may also be voiceless. Tibetan, for example, has a voiceless [l̥] in Lhasa, which sounds similar to, but is not as fricative as, the voiceless lateral fricative [ɬ]. Welsh has several voiceless sonorants: /m̥/, /n̥/, /ŋ̊/, and /r̥/, the latter in the name Rhiannon.
To pronounce voiceless sonorants, speak in a loud whisper. Whispering damps the vocal cords.
[edit] Voicing in English
Beside the pairs of voiceless and voiced 'obstruent' consonants given above, other voiced sounds in English are the nasals, i.e. /m, n, ŋ/; the approximants, i.e. /l, r, w, j/ (the last spelled <y>); and the vowels. These sounds are called sonorants.
In most languages, the difference between /b, d, g/ and /p, t, k/ is that /b, d, g/ are voiced, while /p, t, k/ are not. However, in many English dialects (including Received Pronunciation and American English), the main distinction is not that /b, d, g/ are voiced, but rather that /p, t, k/ are aspirated. That is, they differ in when voicing starts. In most English dialects, /b, d, g/ are partially voiceless in some environments, such as word initially. In fact, after an /s/, the contrast between /p, t, k/ and /b, d, g/ is lost; when a child learning English has acquired voicing distinctions, but not yet acquired the clusters /sp, st, sk/, the child's pronunciation of spy, sty, sky sounds to an adult like buy, die, guy.
[edit] 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 often the latter.
In Alsatian, as in several Germanic languages, the stop consonants /b̥/, /d̥/, /ɡ̊/ are given the ambiguous label "lenis"; here the glottis is positioned for voicing, but does not actually vibrate. That is, they are technically voiceless, but without the open glottis usually associated with voiceless stops. In borrowings from French, they contrast with both modally voiced [b], [d], [ɡ], where the vocal cords do vibrate, and modally voiceless [p], [t], [k], where the glottis is open.
[edit] See also
- Phonation
- Voice onset time
- Manner of articulation
- Place of articulationbr:Mouezh (yezhoniezh)
de:Sonorisierung fi:Soinnillinen äänne fi:Soinniton äänne fr:Voisement ja:清濁 ko:청음과 탁음 nl:Stemhebbend nl:Stemloos no:Stemt konsonant no:Ustemt konsonant pl:Dźwięczność ro:Consoană sonoră ro:Consoană surdă sv:Tonande konsonant sv:Tonlös konsonant zh:清濁音
