Voicing

Voicing in phonetics refers to whether the vocal cords vibrate during the production of a sound. When the vocal cords vibrate, the sound is called voiced (like in "b" or "d"). When they do not vibrate, the sound is voiceless (like in "p" or "t"). This distinction helps differentiate between sounds and is a fundamental aspect of speech production across languages. For example, "b" and "p" are similar, but "b" is voiced, and "p" is voiceless, with the main difference being whether the vocal cords vibrate.