Why が instead of の in 人が話す声が熊に聞こえると?


I've read the news that reads:

> 人 **が** 話す声が熊に聞こえると、熊が近くに来なくなります。

Why が not の in this case? Is there a convention or a particular rule? Or do
they have subtle differences?

Thanks!




I'm not sure about your current level of knowledge, so let me start with the
basics.

人が話す is a ([gapless](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/14550/5010))
relative clause that modifies 声. 人 **が** 話す声 and 人 **の** 話す声 are
interchangeable, and they both mean "the sound of someone talking". This
phenomenon is known as [ga-no
conversion](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/12825/5010). There are
[exceptions](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/42570/5010), but basically が
and の are [surprisingly
similar](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/93246/5010) in a relative
clause.

* * *

If you already understand all of this, but still feel 人 **の** 話す声が熊に聞こえると is
better, then yes, I agree. In this particular case, to avoid using が twice in
close proximity within the same sentence, I think it would have been slightly
better to say 人 **の** 話す声 **が** 熊に聞こえると. But this is a very minor issue that
would hardly ever be pointed out as unnatural, and there's usually no need to
worry about it. The original sentence is perfectly accurate and natural as-is.




I'm not sure about your current level of knowledge, so let me start with the
basics.

人が話す is a ([gapless](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/14550/5010))
relative clause that modifies 声. 人 **が** 話す声 and 人 **の** 話す声 are
interchangeable, and they both mean "the sound of someone talking". This
phenomenon is known as [ga-no
conversion](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/12825/5010). There are
[exceptions](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/42570/5010), but basically が
and の are [surprisingly
similar](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/93246/5010) in a relative
clause.

* * *

If you already understand all of this, but still feel 人 **の** 話す声が熊に聞こえると is
better, then yes, I agree. In this particular case, to avoid using が twice in
close proximity within the same sentence, I think it would have been slightly
better to say 人 **の** 話す声 **が** 熊に聞こえると. But this is a very minor issue that
would hardly ever be pointed out as unnatural, and there's usually no need to
worry about it. The original sentence is perfectly accurate and natural as-is.

