devoiced

Devoiced describes a consonant that is produced without vocal fold vibration. In phonetic terms, a typically voiced sound becomes voiceless, yielding a voiceless counterpart such as [b] to [p], [d] to [t], or [z] to [s]. Devoicing can apply to obstruents (stops, fricatives, affricates) and, less commonly, to certain sonorants in specific phonological environments.

In many languages, devoicing is a predictable, context-dependent process. A well-known example is final obstruent devoicing, where voiced consonants become voiceless at the end of a syllable or word. German is often cited for this pattern: a word like Tag (day) is pronounced with a final devoiced [k], transcribed as [taːk]. Other languages with similar phenomena include Dutch, Russian, and Polish, though the exact outcomes vary by language.

In phonetic transcription, devoicing is indicated with a diacritic or by using the voiceless counterpart. For example, a voiced stop like [b] can be realized as [b̥], indicating it is devoiced, while its voiceless counterpart is [p]. The presence of devoicing can alter the phonological system of a language by reducing the surface distinction between voiced and voiceless obstruents in certain positions, even though the underlying phonemic inventory remains contrastive in other contexts.

See also voicing, obstruents, and final devoicing.