Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Voiced consonant
A voiced consonant is a sound made as the vocal cords vibrate, as opposed to a voiceless consonant, where the vocal cords are relaxed. Examples are:
| Voiced | Voiceless |
|---|---|
| [p] | |
| [d] | [t] |
| [g] | [k] |
| [v] | [f] |
| [ð] (them) | [θ] (thing) |
| [z] | [s] |
| [ʒ] (pleasure) | [ʃ] (pressure) |
In English, the main distinction between /b, d, g/ and /p, t, k/ is not that the former are voiced, but rather that the latter are aspirated. There are indeed several English dialects where /b, d, g/ are voiceless.
In Japanese, the voicing sign is a dakuten (゛). For historical (but not phonologically valid) reasons, the sign that turns h into p is called a handakuten, or half-voicing (゜).
See also
11-30-2008 18:11:33
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The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details