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In linguistics, voicelessness is the property of sounds being pronounced without the larynx vibrating. Phonologically, it is a type of phonation, which contrasts with other states of the larynx, but some object that the word phonation implies voicing and that voicelessness is the lack of phonation.
Its phonation is voiceless, which means it is produced without vibrations of the vocal cords. In some languages the vocal cords are actively separated, so it is always voiceless; in others the cords are lax, so that it may take on the voicing of adjacent sounds. It is an oral consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth only.
Speech sounds can be described as either voiceless (otherwise known as unvoiced) or voiced. The term, however, is used to refer to two separate concepts: Voicing can refer to the articulatory process in which the vocal folds vibrate, its primary use in phonetics to describe phones , which are particular speech sounds.
Initial voiceless plosives, like the p in pie, are aspirated, with a palpable puff of air upon release, whereas a plosive after an s, as in spy, is tenuis (unaspirated). When spoken near a candle flame, the flame will flicker more after the words par, tar, and car are articulated, compared with spar, star, and scar .
The voiceless bilabial plosive or stop is a type of consonantal sound used in most spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is p , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is p .
The voiceless alveolar tap or flap is rare as a phoneme. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is ɾ̥ , a combination of the letter for the voiced alveolar tap/flap and a diacritic indicating voicelessness. The equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is 4_0.
The voiceless retroflex implosive is an extremely rare consonantal sound, used in very few spoken languages. There is no official symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound, but ᶑ̊ or ʈʼ↓ may be used, or the old convention 𝼉 ( ƭ̢ ).
Its phonation is voiceless, which means it is produced without vibrations of the vocal cords. In some languages the vocal cords are actively separated, so it is always voiceless; in others the cords are lax, so that it may take on the voicing of adjacent sounds. It is an oral consonant, which means air is allowed to escape through the mouth only.