voicing - towards more native pronunciation

[Tedwonny]

Voicing has long been a problem for many speakers, not least Chinese ESL/EFL learners.

While it's easy to 'voice' at the beginning [e.g. Boy] and in the middle [e.g. lumber], it's most difficult to do it at the end [e.g. language]

language noun - definition in British English Dictionary & Thesaurus - Cambridge Dictionary Online

I've listened to the UK/US pronunciation so many times and I don't reli think the 'g' is voiced. It's more like 'ch'.

1) Can you guys hear the voiced 'g' sounds ?
2) Do native speakers really voiced the final consonant? E.g. dogs ==> This is super difficulty as one has to voice g + s ==> /gz/.

Wanna hear your views =]

 

[BobK]

Voicing has long been a problem for many speakers, not least Chinese ESL/EFL learners.

While it's easy to 'voice' at the beginning [e.g. Boy] and in the middle [e.g. lumber], it's most difficult to do it at the end [e.g. language]

language noun - definition in British English Dictionary & Thesaurus - Cambridge Dictionary Online

I've listened to the UK/US pronunciation so many times and I don't reli think the 'g' is voiced. It's more like 'ch'.

1) Can you guys hear the voiced 'g' sounds ?
Yes we can, but they're not /g/ sounds. The witten 'g' in that words represents to vioiced affricate /ʤ/. Consider the words 'batch' and 'badge, 'watch' and 'wodge', 'larch' and 'large', 'etch' and 'edge', 'perch' and 'purge', 'search and 'surge', 'rich' and 'ridge'... - they're all distinguished by voicing; /ʧ/ and /ʤ/
2) Do native speakers really voice[STRIKE]d[/STRIKE] the final consonant? E.g. dogs ==> This is super difficult[STRIKE]y[/STRIKE] as one has to voice g + s ==> /gz/.
Yes. 'Docks' ([dɒks/) don't sound the same as 'dogs' (/dɒgz.).

Wanna hear your views =]

I don't know anything about Chinese phonology, but it seems to me quite probable that Chinese doesn't have words that end with a voiced consonant - this make it hard for you to hear the voicing here, or produce it; but it's there, believe me. ;-)

b

 

[Tedwonny]

Voicing has long been a problem for many speakers, not least Chinese ESL/EFL learners.

While it's easy to 'voice' at the beginning [e.g. Boy] and in the middle [e.g. lumber], it's most difficult to do it at the end [e.g. language]

language noun - definition in British English Dictionary & Thesaurus - Cambridge Dictionary Online

I've listened to the UK/US pronunciation so many times and I don't reli think the 'g' is voiced. It's more like 'ch'.

1) Can you guys hear the voiced 'g' sounds ?
2) Do native speakers really voiced the final consonant? E.g. dogs ==> This is super difficulty as one has to voice g + s ==> /gz/.

Wanna hear your views =]

Very Much Obliged
If some native speakers could click on the above link and hear the UK and US pronunciation. I've listened to it so many times and am still not quite convinced they have voiced the final consonant [ESPECIALLY THE US VERSION]

Really, do final consonants have to be voiced?

In one of my undergraduate phonetics lesson, my professor said the /b/ in boy can be devoiced and there are at least 30-40% of native speakers who do that. Too bad I didn't ask him about the ending part, which is very difficult for many English learners.

Is it a gender problem? Females tend not to voice as much?

Thanks

 

[5jj]

If some native speakers could click on the above link and hear the UK and US pronunciation. I've listened to it so many times and am still not quite convinced they have voiced the final consonant [ESPECIALLY THE US VERSION]

The sounds produced there certainly have much less voicing than /ʤ/ has at the beginning of a word or between two vowels, but the sound is not /ʧ/.