Consonant sounds can be voiced or voiceless. But what does that mean? How do you know if you are using your voice correctly?
Here’s how you can tell:
Voiced sounds have vibration and Voiceless sounds don’t
First, imagine the sound of a honey bee – make the sound…
ZZZZZZZZZZZ
Voiced Sound - Vibration
This sound is voiced.
Now, imagine the sound of a snake – make the sound…
SSSSSSSSSSSSSS
Voiceless Sound - No Vibration
This sound is voiceless.
Note that these two sounds are very similar. The tongue is touching behind the top front teeth. The only difference is the /z/ is voiced and the /s/ is voiceless.
To check your voicing, place your fingers gently on your neck and make the sounds again. You will feel a gentle vibration for the voiced /z/ sound. There is no vibration for the voiceless /s/ sound.
If your still not sure, think about voicing this way:
Most of the time, we use combine voiced and voiceless sounds. However, when you whisper (like in the library), you usually turn off your voice – EVERYTHING becomes voiceless!
Here are some pairs of similar consonant sounds to practice:
Voiceless Voiced
p b
pet bet
k g
curl girl
s z
sip zip
f v
fine vine
t d
two do
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