In
linguistics
Linguistics is the science, scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure ...
, creaky voice (sometimes called laryngealisation, pulse phonation,
vocal fry
The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound productio ...
, or glottal fry) refers to a low, scratchy sound that occupies the vocal range below the common vocal register. It is a special kind of
phonation in which the
arytenoid cartilages in the
larynx are drawn together; as a result, the
vocal folds
In humans, vocal cords, also known as vocal folds or voice reeds, are folds of throat tissues that are key in creating sounds through vocalization. The size of vocal cords affects the pitch of voice. Open when breathing and vibrating for speec ...
are compressed rather tightly, becoming relatively slack and compact. They normally vibrate irregularly at 20–50 pulses per second, about two octaves below the frequency of
modal voicing, and the airflow through the
glottis is very slow. Although creaky voice may occur with very low
pitch, as at the end of a long
intonation unit
In linguistics, a prosodic unit, often called an intonation unit or intonational phrase, is a segment of speech that occurs with a single prosodic contour ( pitch and rhythm contour). The abbreviation IU is used and therefore the full form is o ...
, it can also occur with a higher pitch. All contribute to make a speaker's voice sound creaky or raspy.
In phonology
In the
Received Pronunciation
Received Pronunciation (RP) is the accent traditionally regarded as the standard and most prestigious form of spoken British English. For over a century, there has been argument over such questions as the definition of RP, whether it is geog ...
of
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
, creaky voice has been described as a possible realisation of
glottal reinforcement
Glottalization is the complete or partial closure of the glottis during the articulation of another sound. Glottalization of vowels and other sonorants is most often realized as creaky voice (partial closure). Glottalization of obstruent consonan ...
. For example, an alternative phonetic transcription of ''attempt'' could be .
In some languages, such as
Jalapa Mazatec
Jalapa Mazatec is a Mazatecan language. An estimate from 1990 suggested it was spoken by 15,000 people, one-third of whom are monolingual, in 13 villages in the vicinity of the town of San Felipe Jalapa de Díaz in the Tuxtepec District of the M ...
, creaky voice has a
phonemic status; that is, the presence or absence of creaky voice can change the meaning of a word.
In the
International Phonetic Alphabet
The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is an alphabetic system of phonetic notation based primarily on the Latin script. It was devised by the International Phonetic Association in the late 19th century as a standardized representation ...
, creaky voice of a
phone is represented by a
diacritic
A diacritic (also diacritical mark, diacritical point, diacritical sign, or accent) is a glyph added to a letter or to a basic glyph. The term derives from the Ancient Greek (, "distinguishing"), from (, "to distinguish"). The word ''diacriti ...
al
tilde
The tilde () or , is a grapheme with several uses. The name of the character came into English from Spanish, which in turn came from the Latin '' titulus'', meaning "title" or "superscription". Its primary use is as a diacritic (accent) i ...
, for example . The
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
prosodic
In linguistics, prosody () is concerned with elements of speech that are not individual phonetic segments (vowels and consonants) but are properties of syllables and larger units of speech, including linguistic functions such as intonation, st ...
feature ''
stød'' is an example of a form of laryngealisation that has a
phonemic
In phonology and linguistics, a phoneme () is a unit of sound that can distinguish one word from another in a particular language.
For example, in most dialects of English, with the notable exception of the West Midlands and the north-west ...
function. A slight degree of laryngealisation, occurring in some
Korean language
Korean ( South Korean: , ''hangugeo''; North Korean: , ''chosŏnmal'') is the native language for about 80 million people, mostly of Korean descent. It is the official and national language of both North Korea and South Korea (geographic ...
consonants for example, is called "
stiff voice".
Social aspects
Use of creaky voice across general speech and in singing is termed "vocal fry".
Some evidence exists of vocal fry becoming more common in the speech of young female speakers of American English in the early 21st century,
[ with researcher Ikuko Patricia Yuasa finding that college-age Americans perceived female creaky voice as "hesitant, nonaggressive, and informal but also educated, urban-oriented, and upwardly mobile."]
It is subsequently theorized that vocal fry may be a way for women to sound more "authoritative" and credible by using it to emulate the deeper male register. Yuasa[ further theorizes that because California is at the center of American popular culture and much of the entertainment industry is rooted there, young Americans may unconsciously be using creaky voice more because of the media they consume.
]
See also
*Creaky-voiced glottal approximant
The creaky-voiced glottal approximant is a consonant sound in some languages. In the IPA, it is transcribed as or . It involves tension in the glottis and diminution of airflow, compared to surrounding vowels, but not full occlusion.
Features
...
*Vocal fry register
The vocal fry register (also known as pulse register, laryngealization, pulse phonation, creaky voice, creak, croak, popcorning, glottal fry, glottal rattle, glottal scrape) is the lowest vocal register and is produced through a loose glottal clos ...
References
Further reading
*
"Word of Mouth: Young Women as Linguistic Innovators"
BBC Radio 4, 18 May 2015, from c. 17:40 mins.
{{phonation
Phonation
br:Mouezh wigourus
fr:Voix craquée
no:Knirkestemme
nn:Knirkestemme