Valjuhääldid

Valjuhääldid, also known as voiced consonants, are speech sounds produced with vibration of the vocal cords. This distinguishes them from voiceless consonants, which are produced without such vibration. The presence or absence of vocal cord vibration is a key characteristic that differentiates many pairs of consonants in various languages, including Estonian. For example, in Estonian, the distinction between 'b' and 'p', 'd' and 't', and 'g' and 'k' is primarily based on voicing. When producing a voiced sound, the larynx vibrates, creating a buzzing sensation that can often be felt by placing a hand on the throat. This vibrational quality contributes to the perceived sound of the consonant. The production of voiced consonants involves airflow from the lungs passing through the vocal cords, causing them to open and close rapidly. This rapid oscillation generates the characteristic voicing. Many linguistic analyses consider the voicing feature to be phonemically significant, meaning it can change the meaning of a word. For instance, in languages that feature both voiced and voiceless versions of a sound, their substitution can lead to entirely different words. The acoustic properties of voiced consonants also differ from their voiceless counterparts, with voiced sounds typically having a lower fundamental frequency and a longer duration.