Airstreams and the vocal cords 17

This vibration occurs at a frequency of about 110–130 times per second (or hertz,
Hz) on average for men, and about 200–230 Hz for women. Because women have
smaller larynxes, and therefore shorter vocal cords, than men, their cords vibrate at a
faster frequency, and sound higher in pitch.
This vibration is known as voice, and sounds involving this vibration are known as
voiced. It is this voicing that gives sounds their carrying power. All vowels and most
consonants in English are voiced.
There are various ways of checking if a sound is voiced. Make a loud, strong [z]
sound (which is voiced), and:

• put your fingers lightly on your Adam’s apple and feel the vibration
• put your fingers in your ears, and hear the booming sound
• put your hand on the top of your head, and feel the vibration (which is essentially
your skull vibrating)
• produce a [z] on a rise in pitch; that is, go from a low pitch to a high pitch.

2 Voicelessness
The muscles that move the arytenoid cartilages can pull the vocal cords apart. This, of
course, is the normal position when breathing. Since the cords are apart, the air can
move freely down to the lungs (when breathing) or up from the lungs (when speaking)
without obstruction.
Sounds made with the vocal cords apart like this are called voiceless. All English
speech sounds can therefore be classified as either voiced (with vocal cord vibration) or
voiceless (without). Because the vocal cords are not vibrating, and thus are not regu-
lating the flow of air through them, voiceless sounds may have a greater force of air than
voiced ones.
Sixteen English sounds occur in eight pairs of voiced and voiceless equivalents. That
is, the only (or main) difference between them is that one has vocal cord vibration, while
the other does not. In the following pairs, the first sound is voiced and the second
voiceless.

• the [b] sound as in bill, and the [p] sound as in pill

• the [d] sound as in door, and the [t] sound as in tore
• the [] sound as in game, and the [k] sound as in came
• the [d] sound as in jeep, and the [tʃ] sound as in cheap
• the [v] sound as in very, and the [f] sound as in ferry
• the [ð] sound as in thy, and the [θ] sound as in thigh
• the [z] sound as in zoo, and the [s] sound as in sue
• the [] sound in the middle of confusion, and the [ʃ] sound in the middle of
Confucian.

3 The [h] sound

The muscles that move the arytenoid cartilages may bring them almost together, thus
leaving a small gap between the vocal cords. In this position, air can escape through the