Knowing the difference between voiceless and voiced sounds could be vital, depending on what situation it’s in.  Knowing whether they’re voiced in the beginning and end, too, is important.

Making a clear distinction between voiceless and voiced sounds is a major part of being understood.

For example, “I missed two pills” might sound like “I missed two bills.”

Vocal cords vibrate during the production of voice sounds and do not vibrate during voiceless sounds.  So, let’s break this day further.

Listen to my podcast down below and check mark the correct answers you hear.

Old Pills          or           Old Bills

Good pie         or           Good buy

Not cold          or           Not gold

Art class          or           Art glass

Bank cards       or           Bank guards

Lock out          or           Log out

Made the bet         or        Made the bed

Major leak      or           Major league

 

Rules And Practice

 

It’s all about identifying the vibration in the vocal cords.  Consonant sounds could be either voiceless or voiced.  Do this exercise and place your fingers on your throat and say /s/.  You should not feel any vibration.  Try it with /z/ after and you should be able to feel it.

Voiceless

p, t, k, f, s, f, t, h

 

Voice

b, d, g, v o, z, d, m, n, l, r, q, y, e

 

Podcast