Consonant features
1. Aspiration
In English, the voiceless stops /p,t,k/ are pronounced with an extra puff of air when these consonants occur at the beginning of a stressed syllable. This phenomenon is called: aspiration. The BBC Pronunciation Tips illustrate the aspiration of /p/ vs /b/, /t/ vs /d/ and /k/ vs /g/.
In English, the voiceless stops /p,t,k/ are pronounced with an extra puff of air when these consonants occur at the beginning of a stressed syllable. This phenomenon is called: aspiration. The BBC Pronunciation Tips illustrate the aspiration of /p/ vs /b/, /t/ vs /d/ and /k/ vs /g/.
|
This an interesting example of amateur linguistics reported by the Guardian. A researcher claimed that American tourists contracted SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) in China by being aspirated by Chinese speakers !
Practise aspiration in this exercise (if you dare! 😅) |
2. Yod-dropping
In English, many consonants that occur before the GOOSE-vowel /uː/ are pronounced with an additional /j/ sound, which is called Yod. This phenomenon in explained in the BBC Pronunciation Tips . One current exception is initial /s/: /suːt/. As explained in this dialect blog, in American English there are more exceptions; that is, Yod is dropped more extensively. You-dropping can be heard in this report on the Super Tuesday in U.S. elections: /tuːsdeɪ/ in American English and /tjuːsdeɪ/ in British English.
In English, many consonants that occur before the GOOSE-vowel /uː/ are pronounced with an additional /j/ sound, which is called Yod. This phenomenon in explained in the BBC Pronunciation Tips . One current exception is initial /s/: /suːt/. As explained in this dialect blog, in American English there are more exceptions; that is, Yod is dropped more extensively. You-dropping can be heard in this report on the Super Tuesday in U.S. elections: /tuːsdeɪ/ in American English and /tjuːsdeɪ/ in British English.
3. 'Clear l' and 'dark l'
