VOICE

VOICE. A term that refers to four aspects of language. The distinctions are illustrated in the phrases a high-pitched voice (general usage), a voiceless consonant (in phonetics), the passive voice (in grammar), and narrative voice (in literary theory).

Voice as vocal sound

The typical SOUND of someone speaking, the product of the vibration of the vocal cords, the resonant effect of the pharynx, mouth, nose, and tongue, the effect of rhythm and pitch, and such qualities as huskiness and throatiness. Individual voices differ, but the voices of members of certain groups have common features: adult male voices are usually ‘deeper’ (have a lower pitch) than women's and children's voices; the voices of people from the same region and/or social group usually share features of a particular accent. Kinds of voice can be categorized according to musical register: a tenor voice, a falsetto voice.

Voice in phonetics

The buzzing sound made in the larynx by the vibration of the vocal cords or folds. In terms of this vibration, sounds are said to be voiced or voiceless. Voiced sounds such as /b, d, g, z/ are made by bringing the vocal folds close together so that the air stream forces them to vibrate as it passes through the glottis. The difference between voice and voicelessness can be checked by holding the larynx and saying zzzz and ssss in alternation, feeling vibration then lack of vibration. See ARTICULATION, DEVOICING, SPEECH, VOICE QUALITY.

Voice in grammar

A category that involves the relationship of subject and object in a sentence or clause. In English, the contrast is between active voice and passive voice, affecting both the structure of the sentence and the form of the verb: Susan chose the furniture is an active sentence whose corresponding passive is The furniture was chosen by Susan. The active object (the furniture) is identical with the passive subject, while the active subject is incorporated in a by-phrase (by Susan). The two sentences have the same truth value, though there are differences in style and emphasis, in that passives are usually more formal than actives and the end of a sentence or clause tends to have the greatest emphasis. The by-phrase is often omitted from the passive sentence, especially in technical writing, producing an agentless passive. See PASSIVIZATION.

Narrative voice

A term in literary criticism for the person who ‘speaks’ in a story, either a narrator who represents the author (‘third person’: the implied author or omniscient narrator), or who is represented by a character (‘first person’). Within a narrative, other ‘voices’ may be heard in dialogue, in direct speech, and in some works of fiction several first-person voices may take up the same story from different perspectives. See DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH.