Devoicing
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Devoicing is a phonological process whereby a consonant that is normally voiced becomes devoiced (i.e. unvoiced) due to the influence of a phonological element in its phonological environment.
This process is different from the concept of a consonant being voiceless. The difference is that voiceless consonants are always voiceless, whereas a devoiced consonant is one that is usually voiced, but which becomes unvoiced under very specific circumstances.
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[edit] In English
In English, sonorants (/l r w j/) following aspirated fortis plosives (that is, /p t k/ in the onsets of stressed syllables unless preceded by /s/) are devoiced such as in please, crack, twin, and pewter.[1]
[edit] Examples in other languages
Another type of devoicing is final obstruent devoicing a systematic phonological process occurring in languages such as German, Dutch, Polish, and Russian, among others. In these languages, voiced obstruents in the syllable coda or at the end of a word become voiceless.
[edit] References
- ^ Roach (2004:240)
[edit] Bibliography
- Roach, Peter (2004), "British English: Received Pronunciation", Journal of the International Phonetic Association 34 (2): 239-245
