Voice Detectives Poster
Phonics & Speech Science
VOICED & UNVOICED SOUNDS
Put your hand on your throat—can you feel your voice motor buzzing?
Sound Lab
Voiced Sounds Motor ON! 🐝
Your Vocal Cords Vibrate
Air rushes past your vocal cords, making them buzz and shake together like guitar strings.
What it feels like: A steady buzzing hum in your throat, like holding a phone on vibrate!
Unvoiced Sounds Motor OFF! 💨
Only Air Passes Through
Your vocal cords stay wide open and still. The sound is made solely by moving air, lips, or teeth.
What it feels like: Quiet whisper, zero throat vibration, and a cool puff of air on your palm.
3 Easy Ways to Test Any Sound
1. Throat Touch
Place two fingers on your Adam's apple. Say "zzzzz" then "sssss"!
2. Ear Muffs
Cover both ears with your hands. Voiced sounds echo loudly inside your skull!
3. Paper / Hand Puff
Hold a tissue near your mouth. Unvoiced sounds blow it with a strong puff!
The Consonant Twin Pairs (Cognates)
These sound pairs use the exact same mouth shape. The only difference is your voice motor!
Unvoiced Voiced
Lips Popping
/p/ → /b/
pat • bat
Tongue Tap
/t/ → /d/
tip • dip
Throat Click
/k/ → /g/
coat • goat
Teeth on Lip
/f/ → /v/
fan • van
Teeth Hiss
/s/ → /z/
sip • zip
Pursed Lips
/sh/ → /zh/
ship • treasure
Tongue Burst
/ch/ → /j/
chin • jam
Tongue in Teeth
/th/ → /th/
thumb • this
Always Voiced Singles: /m/ /n/ /ng/ /l/ /r/ /w/ /y/
Always Unvoiced Single: /h/ (pure breath!)
Super Golden Rule ALL VOWEL SOUNDS ARE VOICED!
Whenever you say A, E, I, O, U (and their blends), your vocal cords are always humming. Try singing any vowel—you can't sing without your voice motor on!