Voicing: Or The Importance of Turning Your Voice “On” & “Off”
What Is "Voicing"?
Voicing is about whether your vocal cords are turned on (buzzing) or turned off (quiet) when you make a speech sound. When we talk, air comes up from the lungs and passes through the vocal cords in the throat (also called vocal folds). These cords can:
Vibrate (buzz) → This makes a voiced sound.
Stay open and quiet → This makes a voiceless sound.
So, voicing = whether your voice is “on” or “off” when saying a sound.
Why Is Voicing Important?
Voicing helps us tell the difference between words. For example:
"bat" and "pat" are the same except for voicing.
/b/ is voiced.
/p/ is voiceless.
If a child mixes up voiced and voiceless sounds, it can make their speech harder to understand. Speech therapists teach kids to feel and hear the difference so they can produce the correct sounds.
How to Tell if a Sound Is Voiced or Voiceless
Here’s a simple way to check voicing:
Put your fingers on your throat.
Say a sound like /z/ (as in zoo).
You’ll feel a buzz = voiced.
Say /s/ (as in sun).
No buzz = voiceless.
You can try this with many sound pairs!
Examples of Voiced and Voiceless Sound Pairs
These sounds are made the same way in the mouth (same place and manner) — the only difference is voicing.
Voiceless /p/ and voiced /b/ in pat and bat
Voiceless /t/ and voiced /d/ in two and do
Voiceless /k/ and voiced /g/ in cap and gap
Voiceless /f/ and voiced /v/ in fan and van
Voiceless /s/ and voiced /z/ in sip and zip
Common Voicing Errors in Children
Some children:
Turn off their voice when they should turn it on (e.g., say "pig" as "big")
Or the opposite: Turn on their voice when they should turn it off
This is called a voicing error or devoicing/voicing problem.
How Speech Therapists Help
Therapists help children:
Feel the difference (with their hand on their throat or using tools like straws or voice meters)
Listen carefully to hear voiced vs voiceless sounds
Practice correct sound pairs with games and fun activities
Therapists also look at patterns — for example, does the child always make voiced sounds voiceless at the start of words? That helps guide the treatment.
Please note the above information is general in nature and is not intended as professional medical advice. Please seek an appointment with a registered speech-language pathologist if you are at all worried about your child's development.
References:
Bowen, C. (2019). Communication Disorders Glossary with an emphasis on Children’s Speech. Speech-Language-Therapy.com. https://speech-language-therapy.com/~speech/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14:glossary&catid=9:resources&Itemid=118
Suggested Resources
FREEBIE Stone Age Struggle: /b/ Sound
Practice your child’s /b/ sounds with dangerous dinos in a fun interactive game.
FREEBIE Shopping Trip: /b/ Sound
Practice your child’s /b/ sounds by competing to see who can fill their shopping basket first.
FREEBIE Monster Madness: /b/ Sound
Practice your child’s /b/ sounds with mad monsters in a fun interactive game.