VARIANTS THAT

AFFECT SPEECH

Aspiration- refers to an explosive sound of
breath brought about by the sudden release
of air after the contact of parts of the speech
mechanism. This puff of air accompanies
the utterance of a sound.

THE ASPIRATION OF
INITIAL /P/,/T/,/K/
 Observe how /p/, /t/, /k/ are aspirated when they are found in initial position as
in the following examples. Don’t forget /p/ is bilabial, /t/ is alveolar, and /k/ is a
velar.

Till till the end of time pick pick up the pieces power
people power
Keep keep the change tree tea tree top table table
tennis
Pool pool of water cool cool morning car car
key

THE ASPIRATION OF
INITIAL /P/,/T/,/K/
 /p/, /t/, /k/ are not aspirated when found in medial or in final position within the stream of speech.
Observe the following:

Medial
Apart city uncle
Opal party cycle
Apple writing banker
Puppet meter handkerchief
Paper center market
Company water basket
Operator matter bakery

THE ASPIRATION OF
INITIAL /P/,/T/,/K/
 Final
Dip it in salt the top of the mountain help the poor
Tilt your head stop the car take it way
Look behind you ask a question pink of health

THE ASPIRATION OF
INITIAL /P/,/T/,/K/
 They are not aspirated in words such as: spill, skill, still. Neither are /b/, /d/,
/g/, the voiced counterparts of /p/, /t/, /k/, aspirated.

Tick – dick peak – beak post – boast

Palm – balm rope – robe take – drake
Come – gun route – rude kitten – gotten
Trip – drip tuck – duck call – gall

THE ASPIRATION OF
INITIAL /P/,/T/,/K/
 The /t/ or /d/ in English is made by striking the tip of the tongue on the
upper teethridge. Do not put the tongue between the teeth as you do in the vernacular.

Tell the teacher do a dance step spill the plate of beans

Trick or treat grade his work get-together party
Take a test plan a picnic pick up the pieces
Tour the country tick tack toe good old days

THE ASPIRATION OF
INITIAL /P/,/T/,/K/
 TONGUE TWISTERS

1. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers

A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers
Where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?
2. 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 will make my batter better
So ‘twas better Betty Botter bought a bit of better butter.

THE ASPIRATION OF
INITIAL /P/,/T/,/K/
 TONGUE TWISTERS
How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
He would chuck, he would, as much as he could, and chuck as much wood
As a woodchuck would if a woodchuck could chuck wood.
4. Good, better, best
Never let it rest
Till your good is better
And your better best
5. Can you can a can as a canner can can a can?
6. Lesser leather never weathered wetter weather better.
7. How can a clam cram in a clean cream can?
8. She sells seashells by the seashore.

THE ASPIRATION OF
INITIAL /P/,/T/,/K/
 - Are those consonants, which are pronounced
without a vowel in an unstressed syllable
 - Occurs only when the stressed syllable ends in
/t/, /d/, or /n/ and is followed by /l/, or /n/ in the
unstressed syllable.

SYLLABIC CONSONANT
Cotton sudden needle student gentle didn’t
Little final accident hospital forgotten hadn’t
Riddle captain curtain sentence sit and wait couldn’t
Certain written gotten mountain read and write shouldn’t
Bitten kernel medal Britain bread and butter wouldn’t
Bottle capital bridal crystal bright and early colonel

SYLLABIC CONSONANT
 Drill:
 1. The student was rushed to the hospital.
 2. He had met an accident while climbing a mountain.
 3. Certain people said that he shouldn’t have tried to do it.
 4. Several sentences were written by the student on the board.
 5. It was bright and early when the captain finally found the
cotton field.
 6. The model hadn’t forgotten to write a bread and butter letter.
 7. The colonel didn’t have to sit and wait for the final curtain.

SYLLABIC CONSONANT
 - Length of a vowel sound is the length of time
needed to pronounce a vowel sound
 - Refers to quantity or the duration of sound,
not the quality or difference in vowel sounds

VOWEL LENGHT
 Vowel length or the duration of time it takes to pronounce the
vowel is altered by:
1. Stress
2. Syllable structure
Stress accompanies the length of the vowel sound.
Example:
Can’t he swim?
No, he can’t.

VOWEL LENGHT
 Note that the vowel in the stressed word can’t in the second sentence is
longer than the vowel in the unstressed word can’t in the first. Since the
syllable structure of the words are the same, then the length here is due to
stress.
 Although stress lengthens a vowel sound, syllable structure may
shorten a stressed syllable. Listen to the length of the stressed vowel in the
following:

The seat /dh siyt/ the heap /dh hiyp/

The seed/dh siyd/ the meal/dh miyl/

VOWEL LENGHT
 The vowel in seed is longer because the word ends in a
voiced consonant while that in seat is shorter because
the word ends in a voiceless consonant. The same is true
with the second pair. The vowel in heap is shorter
because the word ends in a voiceless consonant while
that in meal is longer because the word ends in a voiced
consonant. This is what is meant by syllable structure.

VOWEL LENGHT
 Conversation Drill
Carlo: How was your vacation, Kathleen?
Kathleen: Wonderful! It’s to be in the province
once in a while and even
nicer to be with relatives after sometime.
Carlo: Did you have much fun?
Kathleen: Lots of! Eating delicacies, swimming, dancing,
meeting people,
picture taking and many more.
Carlo: So I thought.

VOWEL LENGHT
 Kathleen: You should have waited for us.
Carlo: I wanted to very much, but time just wasn’t for us to
enjoy.
We had to leave earlier. You know the pressures
of office work.
Kathleen: I know, but maybe later we can find time
together. Can’t we?
Carlo: Sure! How about next summer?
Kathleen: that would be just about right. I’ll look
forward to that. Mom and Dad will surely be glad to hear about it.
Carlo: So will everybody in the family.

VOWEL LENGHT