In
phonology,
voicing (or
sonorization) is a
sound change where a
voiceless consonant becomes voiced due to the influence of its phonological environment; shift in the opposite direction is referred to as
devoicing or
desonorization. Most commonly, the change is a result of
sound assimilation with an adjacent sound of opposite
voicing, but it can also occur word-finally or in contact with a specific vowel.