Whispering

Whispering

Whispering is an unvoiced mode of phonation in which the vocal cords do not vibrate normally, but are instead adducted sufficiently to create audible turbulence (a 'hissing' quality) as the speaker exhales (or occasionally inhales) during speech. ["Principles of Phonetics." John Laver, 1994, Cambridge Textbooks in Linguistics.] This is a somewhat greater adduction than that found in breathy voice. Articulation remains the same as in normal speech.

In normal speech, the vocal cords alternate between states of voice and voicelessness. In whispering, only the voicing changes, so that the vocal cords alternate between whisper and voicelessness (though the acoustic difference between the two states is minimal). ["Language History: An Introduction." Andrew L. Sihler, 1999, John Benjamins.]

There is no symbol in the IPA for whispered phonation, since it is not used phonemicly in any language. However, a sub-dot under phonemically voiced segments is sometimes seen in the literature, as IPA| [ʃʊ̣ḍ] for whispered "should."

Social role of whispering

Whispering is generally used quietly, to limit the hearing of speech to listeners who are nearby; for example, to convey secret information without being overheard, or to avoid disturbing others in a quiet place such as a library or place of worship. Loud whispering, known as a stage whisper, is generally only used for dramatic or emphatic purposes. Whispering also takes less effort to vocalize than a normal speech pattern. This is because less air needs to be used to vocalize the sound. However, while it takes less effort to produce a whisper, it tires out the vocal cords more quickly. The whispering voice should not be used during vocal rest, when one has fully or partially lost ones voice for this reason.

See also

* Aspiration (phonetics)
* Egressive speech vs. ingressive speech
* Other forms of unvoiced vocalization: gasping, sighing, panting
* Creaky voice
* Falsetto
* Whispering gallery
* Cocktail party effect

References

External links

* [http://cspeech.ucd.ie/~fred/teaching/oldcourses/phonetics/phonation.html Sound patterns in Human Language: phonation]
* [http://cercor.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/15/12/1835 Functional Neuroanatomy of Human Vocalization: An H215O PET Study]


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  • whispering — [hwis′pərē, wis′pərēhwis′pəriŋ, wis′pəriŋ] adj. that whispers or is like a whisper: also whispery [hwis′pərē, wis′pərē] n. 1. the act of one who whispers 2. something whispered; whispered sound, speech, etc. whisperingly adv …   English World dictionary

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