Creaky voice
Template:Short descriptionTemplate:Infobox IPA In linguistics, creaky voice (sometimes called laryngealisation, pulse phonation, vocal fry, or glottal fry) refers to a low, scratchy sound that occupies the vocal range below the common vocal register. It is a special kind of phonation<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> in which the arytenoid cartilages in the larynx are drawn together; as a result, the vocal folds are compressed rather tightly, becoming relatively slack and compact. They normally vibrate irregularly at 20–50 pulses per second, about two octaves below the frequency of modal voicing, and the airflow through the glottis is very slow. Although creaky voice may occur with very low pitch, as at the end of a long intonation unit, it can also occur with a higher pitch.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> All contribute to make a speaker's voice sound creaky or raspy.
In phonologyEdit
In the Received Pronunciation of English, creaky voice has been described as a possible realisation of glottal reinforcement. For example, an alternative phonetic transcription of attempt {{#invoke:IPA|main}} could be {{#invoke:IPA|main}}.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
In some languages, such as Jalapa Mazatec, creaky voice has a phonemic status; that is, the presence or absence of creaky voice can change the meaning of a word.<ref name="AshbyMaidment2005">Template:Cite book</ref> In the International Phonetic Alphabet, creaky voice of a phone is represented by a diacritical tilde Template:Unichar, for example {{#invoke:IPA|main}}. The Danish prosodic feature stød is an example of a form of laryngealisation that has a phonemic function.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> A slight degree of laryngealisation, occurring in some Korean language consonants for example, is called "stiff voice".<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Social aspectsEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Use of creaky voice across general speech and in singing is termed "vocal fry".
Some evidence exists of vocal fry becoming more common in the speech of young female speakers of American English in the early 21st century,<ref name=Yuasa/> with researcher Ikuko Patricia Yuasa finding that college-age Americans perceived female creaky voice as "hesitant, nonaggressive, and informal but also educated, urban-oriented, and upwardly mobile."<ref name=Yuasa>Template:Cite journal</ref>
It is subsequently theorized that vocal fry may be a way for women to sound more "authoritative" and credible by using it to emulate the deeper male register.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Yuasa<ref name=Yuasa/> further theorizes that because California is at the center of much of the entertainment industry, young Americans may unconsciously be using creaky voice more because of the media they consume.
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
Further readingEdit
- Template:SOWL
- "Word of Mouth: Young Women as Linguistic Innovators", BBC Radio 4, 18 May 2015, from c. 17:40 mins.