Voice onset time

In phonetics, aspiration is the strong burst of air that accompanies the release of some obstruents. To feel or see the difference between aspirated and unaspirated sounds, put your hand or a lit candle in front of your mouth, and say top and then stop. You should either feel a puff of air or see a flicker of the candle flame with top that you do not get with stop. In English, the t shou ...

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• Aspiration phonetics - Reference

Read more here: » Aspiration phonetics: Encyclopedia - Aspiration phonetics

In classic treatments of phonation, such as those of Peter Ladefoged, phonation was considered to be a matter of points on a continuum of tension and closure of the vocal cords. More intricate mechanisms were occasionally described, but they were difficult to investigate, and until recently the state of the glottis and phonation were considered to be nearly synonymous. If the vocal cords are completely relaxed, with the arytenoid cartilages apart for maximum airflow, the cords do not vibrate. This is voiceless phonation, and is ...

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Phonation, Phonation - Voicing, Phonation - Phonation as the state of the glottis, Phonation - Unaccompanied phonation, Phonation - Register, Phonation - Supra-glottal phonation, Phonation - Phonation in familiar languages

Read more here: » Phonation: Encyclopedia II - Phonation - Phonation as the state of the glottis

In languages such as French, all obstruents occur in pairs, one modally voiced and one voiceless. In English, every voiced fricative corresponds to a voiceless one. For the pairs of English plosives, however, the distinction is better specified as voice onset time rather than simply voice: In initial position /b d g/ are only partially voiced (voicing begins during the hold of the consonant), while /p t k/ are as ...

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Phonation, Phonation - Voicing, Phonation - Phonation as the state of the glottis, Phonation - Unaccompanied phonation, Phonation - Register, Phonation - Supra-glottal phonation, Phonation - Phonation in familiar languages

Read more here: » Phonation: Encyclopedia II - Phonation - Phonation in familiar languages

In the last few decades it has become apparent that phonation may involve the entire larynx, with as many as six valves and muscles working either independently or together. From the glottis upward, these articulations are[1] glottal (the vocal cords), producing the distinctions described above ventricular (the 'false vocal cords', partially covering and damping the glottis) arytenoid (sphincteric compression forwards and upwards) epiglotto-pharyngeal (retraction of the tongue and epiglottis, potentially closing onto the pharyngeal wall) raising or lowering of the e ...

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Phonation, Phonation - Voicing, Phonation - Phonation as the state of the glottis, Phonation - Unaccompanied phonation, Phonation - Register, Phonation - Supra-glottal phonation, Phonation - Phonation in familiar languages

Read more here: » Phonation: Encyclopedia II - Phonation - Supra-glottal phonation

A voiced sound is produced when air expelled from the lungs causes the vocal cords to vibrate. This produces a fundamental tone accompanied by several non-harmonic overtones. The resulting sound is modified by movements in the vocal tract, by the volume of the airflow and by the degree of constriction of the vocal cords. (During speech the flow of air is relatively small because of constrictions of the vocal cords.) Vowels are usually voiced, as are many consonants. (see voiced consonant.) If the vocal cords are lax and do not vibrate, then the sound (usua ...

See also:

Phonation, Phonation - Voicing, Phonation - Phonation as the state of the glottis, Phonation - Unaccompanied phonation, Phonation - Register, Phonation - Supra-glottal phonation, Phonation - Phonation in familiar languages

Read more here: » Phonation: Encyclopedia II - Phonation - Voicing