Voiced... voiceless

One problem that many students face in pronunciation is whether a consonant is voiced or voiceless. This lecture should help you understand the differences and give you some simple rules.

What isVoiced?

A simple explanation of voiced consonants is that they use the voice. This is easy to test by putting your finger on your throat. If you feel a vibration the consonant is voiced. Pronounceeach consonant sound (not the letter) and feel the vibration of your vocal chords.

bdth (as in then)vlrzj (as in Jane)

Voiceless consonants do not use the voice. They are percussive anduse hard sounds. Once again, you can test if a consonant is voiceless by putting your finger on your throat. You will feel no vibration in your throat, just a short explosion of air as you pronounce.Pronounce each of these consonant sounds and feel NO vibration in your throat.
ptksshchth (as in thing)

When consonants are put in groups they can change the voiced or voiceless qualityof the consonant that follows. A great example of this is the past simple form of regular verbs. As you know, regular verbs add -ed to the end of the verb in the past simple.
play - playedwash -washedlive - lived etc.
These past simple verbs all end in '-ed'. However, some of the verbs are pronounced with a voiceless 't' sound and some are pronounced with the voiced 'd' sound. Why? Here arethe rules.

If -ed is preceded by a voiceless consonant sound (p, k, sh, etc.) -ed sounds as a voiceless 't'. Remember that the 'e' is silent.
If -ed is preceded by a voiced consonant sound (d, b,v, etc.) -ed sounds as a voiced 'd'. Remember that the 'e' is silent.
If -ed is preceded by a vowel sound (often 'ay') -ed sounds as a voiced 'd' because vowels are always voiced. Remember that the'e' is silent.
Exception: If -ed is preceded by 't' pronounce a voiced -id. In this case, the 'e' is pronounced

This pattern can also be found with plural forms. If the consonant preceding the...