Voiced and Whispered Sounds

A sound is described as a WHISPERED sound if your voice is not turned on when you say it.

Place your hand on your throat and whisper the entire word “FUSS”. You should feel no vibration in your throat, because all the sounds are whispered.

Now say the word out loud, holding each sound longer than you normally do. Use your normal speaking voice. You should feel no vibration in your throat for the sounds “fff” and “sss”

Now say the word “FUN” slowly and feel your throat. You should not feel a vibration for the “fff” sound, but you should feel it buzzing for the “uuu” and the “nnn” sounds. The sound “nnn” is a VOICED sound.

As the facilitator for this program, please do NOT present a lesson that introduces a new sound until you are confident that you can present it accurately. If you teach a wrong sound, your child may have trouble later while trying to read words that contain that sound.