In what word are all the consonant sounds voiced: a puppy was afraid of cats and strangers?

In what word are all the consonant sounds voiced: a puppy was afraid of cats and strangers? - briefly

To identify the word in which all consonant sounds are voiced, one must analyze the phonetics of each word in the sentence. The consonants in English can be either voiced or voiceless. Voiced consonants are those where the vocal cords vibrate during their production, whereas voiceless consonants do not involve vocal cord vibration.

In the sentence "a puppy was afraid of cats and strangers," the word "was" is the only word where all the consonant sounds are voiced. The consonant sound /w/ in "was" is voiced, making it the correct answer.

In what word are all the consonant sounds voiced: a puppy was afraid of cats and strangers? - in detail

To determine the word in which all the consonant sounds are voiced in the phrase "a puppy was afraid of cats and strangers," it is essential to understand the nature of voiced and voiceless consonants. Voiced consonants are those produced with vocal fold vibration, while voiceless consonants are produced without this vibration. In English, common voiced consonants include /b/, /d/, /g/, /v/, /z/, /ʒ/, /ð/, /ʤ/, /m/, /n/, /ŋ/, /l/, /r/, and /w/. Voiceless consonants include /p/, /t/, /k/, /f/, /s/, /ʃ/, /θ/, /h/, and the voiceless variants of /l/ and /r/.

Let us analyze the phrase "a puppy was afraid of cats and strangers":

1. "a": This word contains no consonants.
2. "puppy": Consonants are /p/ (voiceless) and /p/ and /y/ (voiced).
3. "was": Consonants are /w/ (voiced) and /s/ (voiceless).
4. "afraid": Consonants are /f/ (voiceless), /r/ (voiced), /d/ (voiced).
5. "of": Consonants are /v/ (voiced) and /f/ (voiceless).
6. "cats": Consonants are /k/ (voiceless), /t/ (voiceless), /s/ (voiceless).
7. "and": Consonants are /n/ (voiced) and /d/ (voiced).
8. "strangers": Consonants are /s/ (voiceless), /t/ (voiceless), /r/ (voiced), /n/ (voiced), /d/ (voiced), /ʒ/ (voiced), /r/ (voiced), /s/ (voiceless).

Upon examining each word, it becomes clear that the word "and" is the only one where all consonant sounds are voiced. The consonants /n/ and /d/ in "and" are both voiced, making this word the sole example in the given phrase where all consonant sounds are voiced.

In summary, the word "and" is the one in which all the consonant sounds are voiced in the phrase "a puppy was afraid of cats and strangers." This analysis underscores the importance of phonetic knowledge in identifying the voiced and voiceless nature of consonants within words.