Vocoding

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. Processing a voice signal by analyzing and re-synthesizing its spectral envelope for transmission or compression ; producing a robotic or synthesized vocal sound by running a voice through a vocoder effect
2. The method of breaking speech into frequency bands and rebuilding it electronically for compact transmission ; the act of singing or talking through a vocoder to create a mechanical vocal tone
3. Analyzing and resynthesizing a human voice to reduce its data size or alter its timbre ; delivering vocals through a vocoder so they sound electronic and robotic

Etymology: "Vocoder" is the older word, and it is a compound of two Latin-derived pieces: "vox" (voice) and the "-coder" that comes from "encoder" and "coding." The device it named was built to analyse speech and rebuild it from electronic signals, so the "voice" in the name was the thing being processed rather than a human sound. Once the machine had a name, speakers needed a verb for what it did, and "vocode" was formed by back-formation, which means a verb was carved out of the noun by dropping what looked like a suffix. "Vocoding" is the ing-form of that verb, and it covers both the act of processing a voice through such a device and the effect it produces. That effect, a voice that sounds synthetic or mechanical, is what the word now usually means, and it is why the sound is so familiar in music and film. The word therefore moved from naming a piece of equipment to naming a sonic texture that the equipment happened to create.