Definition:
In phonetics, the speech sounds produced by the vocal cords. Voice quality refers to the characteristic features of an individual's voice. Voice range (or vocal range) refers to the range of frequency or pitch used by a speaker.
See also:
Etymology:
From the Latin, "call"Examples and Observations:
- "[O]ur social interaction through speech depends on much more than solely the linguistic nature of the spoken messages exchanged. The voice is the very emblem of the speaker, indelibly woven into the fabric of speech. In this sense, each of our utterances of spoken language carries not only its own message, but through accent, tone of voice and habitual voice quality it is at the same time an audible declaration of our membership [in] particular social and regional groups, of our individual physical and psychological identity, and of our momentary mood."
(John Laver, Principles of Phonetics. Cambridge Univ. Press, 1994) - "To feel the difference between voiced and voiceless sounds for yourself, place your fingers on your Adam's apple and produce first the sound of /f/. Sustain that sound for a few seconds. Now quickly switch to the sound of /v/. You should be able to feel very clearly the vibration that accompanies the sound of /v/, which is voiced, in contrast to the absence of such vibration with /f/, which is voiceless. Voicing is the result of moving air causing the vocal folds (or vocal cords) to vibrate within the larynx behind the cartilage of the Adam's apple. This vibration, your voice, is what you feel and hear when you sustain the sound of /v/."
(Thomas P. Klammer et al., Analyzing English Grammar. Pearson, 2007)
Also Known As: voicing
