Consonant voicing and devoicing
PHONETIC SOUND CHANGE
Sonorization; Initial-consonant voicing; Word-initial voicing; Initial voicing; Unvoicing; Devoicing; Initial consonant voicing; Consonant voicing; Voicing assimilation
In phonology, voicing (or sonorization) is a sound change where a voiceless consonant becomes voiced due to the influence of its phonological environment; shift in the opposite direction is referred to as devoicing or desonorization. Most commonly, the change is a result of sound assimilation with an adjacent sound of opposite voicing, but it can also occur word-finally or in contact with a specific vowel.