voice, in phonetics, the sound that is produced by the vibration of the vocal cords. All vowels are normally voiced, but consonants may be either voiced or voiceless (i.e., uttered without vibration of the vocal cords). The liquid consonant l and the nasal m, n, ng (as in “sing”) are normally voiced in English, and the stops, fricatives, and affricates characteristically possess both voiced and voiceless forms. In English, for example, b is a voiced bilabial stop, whereas p is a voiceless bilabial stop. Of the other stops, fricatives, and affricates, v, d, th (as in “this”), z, zh (the sound of the s in “pleasure”), j (as in “jam”), and g are normally all voiced sounds; while f, t, th (as in “thin”), s, sh, ch, and k are all voiceless sounds. See also vocal fry; whisper.