Mark the word in which all consonants are voiceless: cat? - briefly
The word "cat" contains both voiced and voiceless consonants. The consonants in "cat" are 'c' and 't', both of which are voiceless, while 'a' is a vowel.
Mark the word in which all consonants are voiceless: cat? - in detail
To determine whether all consonants in the word "cat" are voiceless, it is essential to analyze each consonant sound individually. Voiceless consonants are produced without the vibration of the vocal cords, whereas voiced consonants involve vocal cord vibration.
The word "cat" consists of three letters: 'c', 'a', and 't'. The vowels 'a' are not relevant to this analysis, so the focus will be on the consonants 'c' and 't'. In English phonetics, the sound represented by 'c' in "cat" is typically /k/, and the sound represented by 't' is /t/. Both /k/ and /t/ are voiceless consonants. This means that when pronouncing "cat," there is no vibration of the vocal cords for either of these sounds.
To further illustrate, consider the phonetic properties of /k/ and /t/:
- /k/: This sound is produced by a complete closure of the back part of the tongue against the soft palate, followed by a sudden release of air. The absence of vocal cord vibration makes it a voiceless sound.
- /t/: This sound is produced by a complete closure of the tongue against the alveolar ridge, followed by a sudden release of air. Similar to /k/, the absence of vocal cord vibration makes it a voiceless sound.
Therefore, in the word "cat," both consonants /k/ and /t/ are voiceless. This confirms that all consonants in the word "cat" are indeed voiceless.