"intervocalic voicing"的定义和意义

What is "intervocalic voicing"?

Intervocalic voicing is a phonological process where a voiceless consonant that occurs between two vowels becomes voiced. This change typically happens in specific linguistic contexts, often to ease pronunciation or create a smoother transition between sounds. For example, in English, the voiceless /t/ in the word "butter" can become voiced, resulting in a pronunciation similar to "budder." Intervocalic voicing is significant in linguistics because it illustrates how the phonetic environment can influence sound changes, helping to provide insights into the rules governing pronunciation and the dynamic nature of spoken language.