häältel

Häältel is a term used in linguistics to describe the voicing of speech sounds. It refers to whether the vocal cords vibrate during the production of a sound. Sounds are categorized as either voiced or voiceless.

Voiced sounds are produced with vibration of the vocal cords. Examples in English include the consonants /b/, /d/, /g/, /v/, /z/, /ʒ/, /dʒ/, /m/, /n/, /ŋ/, /l/, /r/, and /j/, as well as all vowels. When you make a voiced sound, you can feel a vibration in your throat by placing your fingers on your Adam's apple.

Voiceless sounds, on the other hand, are produced without vibration of the vocal cords. Examples in English include the consonants /p/, /t/, /k/, /f/, /s/, /ʃ/, /tʃ/, and /h/. If you try to feel for vibration while making these sounds, you will not detect any.

The distinction between voiced and voiceless sounds is crucial for distinguishing meaning in many languages. For instance, the English words "pat" and "bat" differ only in the voicing of the initial consonant. Similarly, "fan" and "van" are distinguished by the voicing of their initial fricatives. This phonetic feature plays a significant role in the phonemic inventory of languages worldwide. The presence or absence of häältel can determine whether two otherwise identical sounds are perceived as different phonemes.