Editing Phonation (section)

==European language examples==
In languages such as [[French language|French]] and [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]], all [[obstruent]]s occur in pairs, one modally voiced and one voiceless: [b] [d] [g] [v] [z] [ʒ] → [p] [t] [k] [f] [s] [ʃ].

In [[English language|English]], every voiced [[fricative]] corresponds to a voiceless one. For the pairs of English [[stop consonant|stops]], however, the distinction is better specified as [[voice onset time]] rather than simply voice: In initial position, /b d g/ are only partially voiced (voicing begins during the hold of the consonant), and /p t k/ are [[aspiration (phonetics)|aspirated]] (voicing begins only well after its release). Certain English [[morpheme]]s have voiced and voiceless [[allomorph]]s, such as: the plural, verbal, and possessive endings spelled ''-s'' (voiced in ''kids'' {{IPA|/kɪdz/}} but voiceless in ''kits'' {{IPA|/kɪts/}}), and the past-tense ending spelled ''-ed'' (voiced in ''buzzed'' {{IPA|/bʌzd/}} but voiceless in ''fished'' {{IPA|/fɪʃt/}}).

A few European languages, such as [[Finnish language|Finnish]], have no phonemically voiced [[obstruent]]s but pairs of long and short consonants instead. Outside Europe, the lack of voicing distinctions is common; indeed, in [[Australian languages]] it is nearly universal.