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'Whispering' is an unvoiced mode of phonation in which the vocal cords do not vibrate normally, but are instead adducted just sufficiently to create audible frication as the speaker exhales during speech. Other aspects of vocal articulation remain the same as in normal speech.
A combination of whispering and voiced speech is called breathy voice or murmuring.

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Social role of whispering

See also

External links

Social role of whispering

Whispering is generally used quietly, to limit the hearing of speech to listeners who are nearby; for example, to convey secret information without being overheard, or to avoid disturbing others in a quiet place such as a library or place of worship. Loud whispering, known as a 'stage whisper', is generally only used for dramatic or emphatic purposes.

See also

★ Aspiration (phonetics)

★ Egressive speech vs. ingressive speech

★ Other forms of unvoiced vocalization: gasping, sighing, panting

★ Creaky voice

★ Falsetto voice

★ Whispering gallery

★ Cocktail party effect

External links

★ Sound patterns in Human Language: phonation

★ Functional Neuroanatomy of Human Vocalization: An H215O PET Study