A voiced consonant is a sound made as the vocal cords vibrate, as opposed to a voiceless consonant, where the vocal cords are relaxed. Examples are:
| Voiced
| Voiceless
|
|
| [p]
|
| [d]
| [t]
|
| [g]
| [k]
|
| [v]
| [f]
|
| [ð] (them)
| [θ] (thing)
|
| [z]
| [s]
|
| [ʒ] (pleasure)
| [ʃ] (pressure)
|
In English, the main distinction between /b, d, g/ and /p, t, k/ is not that the former are voiced, but rather that the latter are aspirated. There are indeed several English dialects where /b, d, g/ are voiceless.
In Japanese, the voicing sign is a dakuten (゛). For historical (but not phonologically valid) reasons, the sign that turns h into p is called a handakuten, or half-voicing (゜).
See also
