Voiced Consonants
A voiced consonant is a type of consonant sound that is articulated with vibration of the vocal cords. This is in contrast to voiceless consonants, which do not involve such vibration. Understanding the distinction between voiced and voiceless consonants is fundamental in the field of phonetics, where the study of sound in human speech is pursued.
Phonetics: Voiced and Voiceless Consonants
In phonetics, consonants are often categorized into two groups: voiced and voiceless. Voiced consonants are characterized by the engagement of the vocal cords during articulation. Examples of voiced consonants include the English sounds [b], [d], [ɡ], [v], [z], and [ʒ]. These sounds can be contrasted with their voiceless counterparts: [p], [t], [k], [f], [s], and [ʃ].
The presence of voicing is often marked in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) using a diacritic symbol, such as ⟨◌̬⟩.
Obstruents and Sonorants
In the classification of voiced consonants, a key distinction is made between obstruents and sonorants. Obstruents are sounds produced with an obstruction of airflow, and include both voiced and voiceless consonants like plosives, fricatives, and affricates. For example, voiced dental fricatives like the "th" in "this" are common in English.
Sonorants, on the other hand, inherently involve voicing and include sounds such as nasals ([m], [n]), liquids ([l], [r]), and glides ([w], [j]).
Types of Voiced Consonants
Voiced Plosives
Voiced plosives, also known as stops, are consonants produced by obstructing airflow and then releasing it. Common voiced plosives in English include [b], [d], and [ɡ].
Voiced Fricatives
Voiced fricatives involve the partial obstruction of airflow, causing turbulent sound. Examples include [v], [z], and the voiced pharyngeal fricative found in some languages.
Voiced Affricates
An affricate is a complex consonant that begins as a plosive and releases as a fricative. Voiced affricates such as [d͡ʒ] are present in English as in the word "judge."
Voiced Approximants
Voiced approximants are consonants that involve the narrowing of the vocal tract, but not enough to cause turbulence. Examples include [w], [j], and the voiced velar approximant.
Voiced Uvular and Velar Consonants
Certain languages feature voiced uvular fricatives or voiced velar lateral approximants, which are less common but notable for their distinct articulation.
Phonological Processes
In phonology, processes such as voicing and devoicing occur, where a voiceless consonant becomes voiced or vice versa due to phonetic context. Such processes influence the sound of morphemes in languages, an example being rendaku in Japanese, where the initial voiceless consonant of a morpheme becomes voiced when it appears in the middle of a compound word.