ääninen

ääninen is a Finnish word that translates to "voiced" in English. It is most commonly used in the context of phonetics and linguistics to describe speech sounds produced with vibration of the vocal cords. When a consonant is voiced, the vocal cords are actively vibrating during its production. Conversely, a voiceless consonant is produced without vocal cord vibration.

For example, in Finnish, the consonants p and b are a voiceless-voiced pair. When you say "p" as in "paketti" (package), your vocal cords are not vibrating. However, when you say "b" as in "banaani" (banana), your vocal cords are vibrating, making it an ääninen sound. Other examples of voiced consonants in Finnish include d, g, v, j, and the rolled r.

The distinction between voiced and voiceless sounds is crucial for differentiating words in many languages, including Finnish. For instance, the difference between the word "tuli" (fire) and "duli" (a less common word, but illustrative) would be the voicing of the initial consonant. Understanding the concept of ääninen helps in learning pronunciation and recognizing subtle phonetic differences. This phonetic feature applies not only to consonants but also to vowels, which are always voiced.