devocalize

The linguist demonstrates how to devocalize a consonant sound.

Definition

1. Verb (Linguistics):
   • To make voiceless: "devocalize" means to change a speech sound from a voiced state (where the vocal cords vibrate) to a voiceless state (where they do not vibrate). This is a technical term in phonetics and phonology.

Usage Examples

• (The voiced /z/ sound becomes voiceless /s/.)
• (The process of making sounds like /b/ into /p/.)

Advanced Usage

• "to devocalize a consonant": to apply the process of devocalization to a specific speech sound.
  • The rule states that plosives are devocalized at the end of a word. (The sound loses its vocal cord vibration.)

Variants and Related Words

• Devocalization (n): the process or result of devocalizing.

  • Devocalization is common in many Germanic languages. (The phenomenon of making sounds voiceless.)

• Devoicing (n): a synonym for devocalization, often used interchangeably.

  • The devoicing of final consonants is a regular sound change. (The same process.)

Synonyms

• Devoice: to make a speech sound voiceless. (More common in modern linguistics.)
• Unvoice: to remove voicing from a sound. (Less common, but synonymous.)

Phonetic Context

• Voiced sounds: sounds where the vocal cords vibrate, such as /b/, /d/, /g/, /z/.
• Voiceless sounds: sounds where the vocal cords do not vibrate, such as /p/, /t/, /k/, /s/.
• Devocalize specifically refers to the act of changing a voiced sound into its voiceless counterpart.

Related Idioms (None)

• No common idioms exist for this technical term.