Stimmlicher

Stimmlicher is the attributive form of the German adjective stimmlich and is used in linguistic contexts to describe sounds associated with voice, specifically those produced with vocal-fold vibration. In German phonology the technical term for this feature is stimmhaft, while stimmlos denotes sounds without voicing. Stimmlich and its inflected forms such as stimmlicher are commonly found in descriptive phrases like stimmlicher Laut or stimmlicher Klang, where the emphasis is on voice-related properties of a sound rather than on a separate phonological category.

Usage and scope: In practical linguistics, stimmlich is encountered as an adjective meaning "voiced" or "pertaining to the voice." However, the standard technical label for phonological voicing is stimmhaft. The word stimmlicher is more likely to appear in prose descriptions, in teaching materials, or in discussions of voice quality and singing, rather than as a formal feature in a phonology inventory. It can also function as the comparative form of stimmlich in some contexts, though this use is less common.

Etymology and related terms: The term derives from Stimme (voice) plus the suffix -lich, yielding stimmlich and its inflected forms such as stimmlicher. Related concepts in German include stimmhaft and stimmlos for the standard voicing contrast, as well as broader notions of phonation and voice quality in speech and singing.

Notes and related terms: In German phonology, the term stimmhaft is the standard label for voicing, while stimmlich and its inflected forms appear mainly in descriptive prose or discussions of voice quality. See also Voicing, Phonation, German phonology, Stimmlos, Stimmhaft.