How would you explain a congested voice?

[42686]

I've been thinking about it recently, and there's more to a congested sounding voice that just the way n's and m's aren't pronounced, but I just can't figure out what it is O_o so how would you describe or explain it??

[EmeraldThread]

I'd say that since there are a few kinds of congested voices, it's hard to explain them all in one way, and then sometimes different kinds get wrapped up into one. But the one I think you're talking about...well, it's kind of like there are pauses before the letters that give a person difficulty. Like anything ending in "ing" suddenly becomes "ig", but not exactly. It's like there's a slight interruption before the g where the n should go. Kind of like that with Ns and Ms, too. You can hear that they're trying to pronounce the letter right, but the congestion just prevents the nasally part of the pronunciation from happening. I don't know if I actually explained any of that in a coherent fashion, but it's similar to what I hear in my head, trying to remember what it sounds like.

[March Hare]

Do you mean describing it in a story, or explaining it to someone who doesn't know what the word means (e.g. a little kid)? I always describe it as "talking that sounds as though you've pinched your nose shut", or "talking with a blocked/stuffed nose".

[VoOs]

When writing, I like to use the word "thick" to describe a stuffy voice. I might also refer to the speakers consonants as "dulled"- or "flattened by congestion". Describing voices is always great fun.