Which word has all voiced consonants: a puppy was afraid of cats and strangers?

Which word has all voiced consonants: a puppy was afraid of cats and strangers? - briefly

To determine which word in the phrase "a puppy was afraid of cats and strangers" contains only voiced consonants, one must first understand the concept of voiced consonants. Voiced consonants are sounds produced with vocal cord vibration, such as /b/, /d/, /g/, /v/, /z/, /θ/, /ð/, /ʒ/, /ʃ/, and others.

In English, the word "strangers" is the only word in the given phrase that contains exclusively voiced consonants. The consonants in "strangers" are /stræŋɡəz/, where all the consonants are voiced: /s/ is unvoiced, /t/ is unvoiced, /r/ is voiced, /æ/ is a vowel, /ŋ/ is voiced, /ɡ/ is voiced, and /z/ is voiced. Therefore, "strangers" is the word with all voiced consonants.

The word is "strangers".

Which word has all voiced consonants: a puppy was afraid of cats and strangers? - in detail

To determine which word in the sentence "A puppy was afraid of cats and strangers" has all voiced consonants, it is essential to understand the distinction between voiced and voiceless consonants. Voiced consonants are produced with vibration of the vocal cords, whereas voiceless consonants are produced without this vibration. In English, common voiced consonants include /b/, /d/, /g/, /v/, /z/, /ʒ/, /ð/, /n/, /m/, /l/, /r/, and /ŋ/. Voiceless consonants, on the other hand, include /p/, /t/, /k/, /f/, /s/, /ʃ/, /θ/, /h/, and /tʃ/.

Let us analyze each word in the sentence to identify the voiced and voiceless consonants:

  • A: This is not a consonant, so it is not relevant to the analysis.
  • puppy: Consonants are /p/ (voiceless), /ʌ/ (vowel), /p/ (voiceless), /i/ (vowel), and /ɪ/ (vowel). None of the consonants in "puppy" are voiced.
  • was: Consonants are /w/ (voiced) and /s/ (voiceless). This word contains both voiced and voiceless consonants.
  • afraid: Consonants are /ə/ (vowel), /f/ (voiceless), /r/ (voiced), /eɪ/ (vowel), /d/ (voiced). This word contains both voiced and voiceless consonants.
  • of: Consonants are /ɒ/ (vowel) and /f/ (voiceless). This word contains a voiceless consonant.
  • cats: Consonants are /k/ (voiceless), /æ/ (vowel), /t/ (voiceless), and /s/ (voiceless). None of the consonants in "cats" are voiced.
  • and: Consonants are /æn/ (vowel) and /d/ (voiced). This word contains a voiced consonant.
  • strangers: Consonants are /str/ (voiceless), /eɪ/ (vowel), /n/ (voiced), /dʒ/ (voiced), /ɪ/ (vowel), /z/ (voiced), /ɚ/ (vowel). This word contains both voiced and voiceless consonants.

Upon reviewing the sentence, it is clear that no single word contains only voiced consonants. Each word either contains a mix of voiced and voiceless consonants or exclusively voiceless consonants. Therefore, there is no word in the sentence "A puppy was afraid of cats and strangers" that has all voiced consonants.