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{{about|the linguistics concept||Voiceless (disambiguation)}}
{{phonation}}▼
{{
{{Infobox IPA
| above = Voiceless
In [[linguistics]], the term '''voiceless''' describes the pronunciation of sounds when the [[larynx]] does not vibrate. Phonologically, this 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. (See [[phonation]] for more.) ▼
| ipa symbol = ◌̥
| decimal=805
}}
▲In [[linguistics]],
The [[International Phonetic Alphabet]] has distinct letters for many voiceless and [[modal voice|modally voiced]] pairs of consonants (the [[obstruent]]s), such as {{IPA|[p b], [t d], [k ɡ], [q ɢ], [f v], and [s z]}}. Also,
==Voiceless vowels and other sonorants==
[[Sonorant]]s are
Voiceless vowels are also an areal feature in languages of the [[American Southwest]] (like [[Hopi language|Hopi]] and [[Keresan languages|Keres]]), the [[Great Basin]] (including all [[Numic languages]]), and the [[Great Plains]], where they are present in Numic [[Comanche language|Comanche]] but also in [[Algonquian languages|Algonquian]] [[Cheyenne language|Cheyenne]], and the [[Caddoan languages|Caddoan]] language [[Arikara language|Arikara]].
Sonorants may also be contrastively voiceless, not just voiceless due to their environment. [[Tibetan language|Tibetan]], for example, has a voiceless {{IPA|/l̥/}} in ''Lhasa,'' which sounds similar to, but is not as noisy as, the [[voiceless alveolar lateral fricative|voiceless lateral fricative]] {{IPA|/ɬ/}} in [[Welsh language|Welsh]], and which contrasts with a modally voiced {{IPA|/l/}}. Welsh contrasts several voiceless sonorants: {{IPA|/m, m̥/}}, {{IPA|/n, n̥/}}, {{IPA|/ŋ, ŋ̊/}}, and {{IPA|/r, r̥/}}, the latter represented by "rh". ▼
▲Sonorants may also be contrastively
On the other hand, although contrastively voiceless vowels have been reported several times, they have never been verified (L&M 1996:315).▼
In [[Moksha language|Moksha]], there is even a voiceless [[palatal approximant]] {{IPA|/j̊/}} (written in [[Cyrillic]] as <[[й]][[х]]> ''jh'') along with {{IPA|/l̥/}} and {{IPA|/r̥/}} (written as {{angbr|[[л]]х}} ''lh'' and {{angbr|[[р]]х}} ''rh''). The last two have palatalized counterparts {{IPA|/l̥ʲ/}} and {{IPA|/r̥ʲ/}} ({{angbr|л[[ь]]х}} and {{angbr|рьх}}). [[Kildin Sami language|Kildin Sami]] has also {{IPA|/j̊/}} {{angbr|[[ҋ]]}}.
▲
==Lack of voicing contrast in obstruents==
Many languages lack a distinction between voiced and voiceless [[obstruent]]s (
In many such languages, obstruents are realized as voiced in voiced environments, such as between vowels or between a vowel and a nasal, and voiceless elsewhere, such as at the beginning or end of the word or next to another obstruent. That is the case in Dravidian and Australian languages and in Korean but not in Mandarin or Polynesian. Usually, the variable sounds are transcribed with the voiceless IPA letters, but for Australian languages, the letters for voiced consonants are often used.
It appears that voicelessness is not a single phenomenon in such languages. In some, such as the Polynesian languages, the vocal cords are required to actively open to allow an unimpeded (silent) airstream. This is sometimes called a ''breathed'' {{IPA|/ˈbrɛθt/}} phonation (not to be confused with [[breathy voice]]). In others, such as many Australian languages, voicing ceases during the hold of a plosive (few Australian languages have any other kind of obstruent) because airflow is insufficient to sustain it, and if the vocal cords open this is due to passive relaxation. Correspondingly, Polynesian plosives are reported to be held for longer than Australian plosives, and are seldom voiced, whereas Australian plosives are prone to having voiced variants (L&M 1996:53). In Southeast Asia, when stops occur at the end of a word they are voiceless because the glottis is closed, not open, and so these are said to be unphonated (have no phonation) by some phoneticians who considered "breathed" voicelessness to be a phonation.<ref>Jerold Edmondson, John Esling, Jimmy Harris, and James Wei, [http://ling.uta.edu/~jerry/suip.pdf "A phonetic study of the Sui consonants and tones"] ''Mon-Khmer Studies'' '''34''':47–66</ref>▼
▲It appears that voicelessness is not a single phenomenon in such languages. In some, such as the Polynesian languages, the vocal
Thus, Polynesian stops are reported to be held for longer than Australian stops and are seldom voiced, but Australian stops are prone to having voiced variants (L&M 1996:53), and the languages are often represented as having no phonemically voiceless consonants at all.
In [[Southeast Asia]], when stops occur at the end of a word they are voiceless because the glottis is closed, not open, so they are said to be unphonated (have no phonation) by some phoneticians, who considered "breathed" voicelessness to be a phonation.<ref>Jerold Edmondson, John Esling, Jimmy Harris, and James Wei, [http://ling.uta.edu/~jerry/suip.pdf "A phonetic study of the Sui consonants and tones"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205031016/http://ling.uta.edu/~jerry/suip.pdf |date=2009-02-05 }} ''Mon–Khmer Studies'' '''34''':47–66</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+Yidiny consonants
!
! [[bilabial consonant|Bilabial]]
! [[alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! [[Retroflex consonant|Retroflex]]
! [[palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! [[velar consonant|Velar]]
|-
!align="left"| [[stop consonant|Stop]]
|align="center"| {{IPA|b}}
|align="center"| {{IPA|d}}
|
|align="center"| {{IPA|ɟ}}
|align="center"| {{IPA|ɡ}}
|-
!align="left"| [[nasal consonant|Nasal]]
|align="center"| {{IPA|m}}
|align="center"| {{IPA|n}}
|
|align="center"| {{IPA|ɲ}}
|align="center"| {{IPA|ŋ}}
|-
!align="left"| [[lateral consonant|Lateral]]
|
|align="center"| {{IPA|l}}
|
|
|
|-
!align="left"| [[rhotic consonant|Rhotic]]
|
|align="center"| {{IPA|r}}
|align="center"| {{IPA|ɽ}}
|
|
|-
!align="left"| [[Semivowel]]
|
|
|
|align="center"| {{IPA|j}}
|align="center"| {{IPA|w}}
|}
[[Yidiny language|Yidiny]] consonants, with no underlyingly voiceless consonants, are posited.<ref>[[R. M. W. Dixon]]. (1977). ''A Grammar of Yidiny''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
==Further reading==
*{{SOWL}}
▲{{phonation}}
[[Category:Phonation]]▼
▲[[Category:Phonation]]
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