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foodtower t1_j7gjprh wrote

Reply to comment by johndburger in Do tonal language speakers understand each other while whispering? by Paulix_05

When I whisper "Sue went to the zoo", "Sue" and "zoo" are easily distinguishable to me. For example, if someone overheard me whispering, they would definitely hear "Sue": the s is louder. I understand the difference between voiced and unvoiced sounds. The fact that they sound different when I say them means that either 1) my whispering is not totally unvoiced and other people's may not be either, or 2) there are subtle differences between how I pronounce s and z that enable them to be distinguished even with both unvoiced.

Edit: as mentioned in a follow-up comment, recorded waveforms of me whispering Sue and zoo are visibly different too.

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johndburger t1_j7grgdj wrote

Or 3) you’re imagining the difference, based on your knowledge of what’s being said, just as listeners do.

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Redingold t1_j7zhgav wrote

No, they really are different. It's a smaller difference than voiced vs unvoiced, known as fortis and lenis. Voiced consonants in English are fortis, and are pronounced more forcefully, and unvoiced consonants in English are lenis, and are pronounced less forcefully.

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BloodshotPizzaBox t1_j7h8kq6 wrote

I realize "Sue" and "zoo" with slightly different tongue placement (the "s" is just a bit more fronted), which might or might not be distinguishable to a listener. I'd be more convinced if I tested it on someone who had to guess which one I meant without me telling them which I intended, and absent any surrounding context.

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