Aspiration
Lesson summary
Unlike French, there can be noticeable release of air in English (like a whisper) after a [p], [t] or [k] sound. This is known as aspiration.
You can hear it in:
- Port[pʰo:t]
- Tar[tʰɑ:]
- Care[kʰɛ:]
However, you don't hear it in:
- Sport[spo:t]
- Star[stɑ:]
- Scare[skɛ:]
to produce aspiration, imagine you are "pushing" the following vowel with a burst of air: p - hort.
So, when do you use it?
Aspiration is used before a vowel sound.
- At the beginning of a word
- At the beginning of a stressed syllable
Examples
Beginning of a stressed syllable
- Report[ɹə'pʰo:t]
- Retain[ɹə'tʰɛjn]
- Record[ɹə'kʰo:d]
Beginning of a word
- Party['pʰɑ:ti:]
- Pertain[pʰə'tʰɛjn]
- Conceal[kʰən'si:l]
- Towards[tʰə'wo:dz]
No aspiration
- Estate[əs'tɛjt:]
- Spare[spɛ:]
- Matter['matə]
- Winter['wɪntə]
Examples for work
- PowerPoint['pʰaʊə,pʰojnt]
- Title['tʰɑjtəɫ]
- Table['tʰɛjbɫ]
- Custom['kʰʌstəm]
- Template['tʰɛmplɛjt]
- Tools[tʰu:ɫz]
- Pane[pʰɛjn]
- Publish['pʰʌblɪʃ]
Tongue twisters
- Betty botter bought some butter. But she said the butter's bitter, "If I put it in my batter, it will make my batter bitter. But a bit of better butter - that would make my batter better.[🔊]
- Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked.[🔊]
- A cupcake cook in a cupcake cook’s cap cooks cupcakes[🔊]