Voiced and voiceless
Voiced Consonants
Your vocal cords, which are actually mucous membranes, stretch across the larynx at
the back of the throat. By tightening and relaxing as you speak, the vocal cords
modulate the flow of breath expelled from the lungs.
An easy way to determine whether a consonant is voiced or not is to place a finger on
your throat. As you pronounce a letter, feel the vibration of your vocal cords. If you
feel a vibration the consonant is a voiced one.
These are the voiced consonants: B, D, G, J, L, M, N, Ng, R, Sz, Th (as in the word
"then"), V, W, Y, and Z. But if consonants are only single letters, what are Ng, Sz, and
Th? They're common sounds that are produced by blending the two consonants
phonetically.
Voiceless Consonants
Voiceless consonants do not use the vocal cords to produce their hard, percussive
sounds.
Instead, they're slack, allowing air to flow freely from the lungs to the mouth, where
the tongue, teeth, and lips engage to modulate the sound.
These are the voiceless consonants: Ch, F, K, P, S, Sh, T, and Th (as in "thing").