In what word are all the sounds deaf, cat? - briefly
The word "cat" contains only voiceless consonants: [k], [æ], and [t].
In what word are all the sounds deaf, cat? - in detail
The question revolves around identifying a word in which all the consonant sounds are voiceless, or "deaf." In phonetics, voiceless consonants are produced without the vibration of the vocal cords, contrasting with voiced consonants, which involve such vibration. For example, in the word "cat," the consonants /k/ and /t/ are voiceless, while the vowel /æ/ is voiced. However, the word "cat" does not fully meet the criteria because it contains a voiced vowel. To find a word where all sounds are voiceless, we must look for a term composed exclusively of voiceless consonants and, if present, voiceless vowels. In English, such words are rare because vowels are typically voiced. However, in some languages, voiceless vowels exist, allowing for words entirely composed of voiceless sounds. For instance, in Japanese, the word "sushi" contains voiceless consonants /s/ and /ʃ/, but the vowels /u/ and /i/ are voiced. Therefore, in English, it is nearly impossible to find a word where all sounds are voiceless due to the inherent nature of vowels. The closest examples would be words with only voiceless consonants, such as "spit" (/s/, /p/, /t/) or "skit" (/s/, /k/, /t/), but these still include voiced vowels. This linguistic exploration highlights the complexity of phonetic structures and the rarity of words composed entirely of voiceless sounds in English.