Re: another (phonolgy) question

On Thu, 1 Apr 1999, J. Barefoot wrote:

> >I think cherokee (or is it Cheyanne?) has voiceless vowels.  So does my
> >Telu'at'a.
>
>
> What does an unvoiced vowel sound like? And I actually meant breathy
> voiced. On a broader level, are there any langugaes that make
> distinctions in the vowels that aren't made in the consonants, like
> breathy-aspirated/plain or voiced/voiceless?
I actually am not sure if they're technically "unvoiced" (although I've
heard them described that way) or actually breathy-voiced.

To produce one, simply begin making the vowel sound and switch off
voicing.  The sound that comes out sounds a lot like a stage whisper, and
is the sound of the unvoiced vowels in Telu'at'a (and of the /l/ too).

--Patrick