Aspiration &

Leeeeeeeeengthening
 Continnnnnnuants and Stops
● Continuants: Say f-f-f. Say s-s-s. What happens with the air
stream?
● A. Is it partially blocked? B. Does it move out without
stopping?
● Most consonants sounds in English ARE continuants.

● Stops : Say /p/. Say /t/. What happens with the air stream?
● Is it partially or completely blocked? B. Does the air stream
stop when you say the sound?
● These consonant sounds are called stops. There are only SIX
English stops: /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/. /k/. /g//
Practice
1. Say the following words with the aid of a balloon. Describe
what happens with the air stream.
● Nice- Night
● Miss- mitt
● Sense-sent
● Stays- stayed
2. Look at the following sentences. What’s the problem with
them? What did the person really want to say?
a. He’s a night person.
b. She’d gone.
 Aspiration rules
● In general terms, any voiceless consonant in English
has aspiration, which is marked as a little / h/ immediately after the consonant in
transcriptions. Look at the following rules:
1. Aspiration is always present in one-syllable words, only when the first
consonant of those words is a voiceless stop.
2. Aspiration only takes place in stressed syllables when we have two or more
syllables in a word, only if the voiceless stop is the first consonant of that
stressed syllable.
3. Aspiration becomes nullified when /p/, /t/, and /k/ appear immediately
after /s/. Why does this happen? As mentioned before, all voiceless
consonants contain aspiration, and /s/ is not the
exception. Thus, there can’t be two consecutive
aspirated consonants in a word.
Slow trip Slow drip
Stopped the train Stopped the drain
Spare time Spare dime
Pack it up Back it up
California peaches California beaches
An excellent pie An excellent buy
Tough crime Tough grime
A large class A large glass
Super clue Super glue
Leeeeeeeeengthening
● Rules
● Vowels are longer at the end of words when they occur
before voiced sonorant consonants.
● Sonorant consonants: A usually voiced speech sound
characterized by relatively free air flow through the vocal tract
and capable of being syllabic, as a vowel, liquid, or nasal.
● all vowels and any of the frictionless consonant sounds, e.g.
/l/, /r/, /m/, /n/, /ŋ /, /w/, and /j/.
● However, lengthening also occurs-in lesser degree- when
vowels occur before voiced non-sonorant consonants.
Leeeeeeeeengthening

LONGER SHORTER

FINAL VOICED FINAL VOICED NON- FINAL VOICELESS

SONORANT SONORANT CONSONANT
CONSONANT CONSONANT (NO LENGHENING)

Room: /ruːm/ Rug: /rʌːg/ Root: /rut, rʊt/

Bull: /bʊːl/ Rude: /ruːd/ Bet: /bɛt/
Bed: /bɛːd/
Badge:/bæːdʒ/
Which of the following words present a case of vowel
lengthening? Which words contain the longest vowel
sounds?

● Pan
● Pat
● Pang
● Pack
● Pad
● Pap
● Pac
● pal
Leeeeeeeeengthening
● Notes:
1. -ing words: main stress is NOT in the –ing
form----not lengthened. Ex. Chilling /ˈtʃɪlɪŋ/
2. Compound words whose original root is
lengthened ARE lengthened. Ex. Rudeness-
rude /ˈru:dnɛs/
Answer the following questions:
● What happens when you marry a stop and a continuant?
● What happens when, in a continuant, the air flows through the
nose?
● What happens when, in a continuant, the breath stream goes to
the side of the tongue?
● What happens to the organs of speech when producing the
continuants /w/ and /j/?
● Study the articulations, manner and voicing of /Ө / /ð /
● Find out what kind of words usually contain those sounds?
Homework:
● What happens when you marry a stop and a continuant?
● When the /t/ + /ʃ / and /d/ + /ӡ /= affricates
● What happens when, in a continuant, the air flows through
the nose? Nasal sound
● What happens when, in a continuant, the breath stream goes to
the side of the tongue? Lateral /l/
● What happens to the organs of speech when producing the
continuants /w/ and /j/? Glide
● Study the articulations, manner and voicing of /Ө / /ð /
● Find out what kind of words usually contain those sounds?
Which of the following words present a case of vowel
lengthening? Which words contain the longest vowel
sounds? Use the rubber band.

● Pan
● Pat
● Pang
● Pack
● Pad
● Pap
● Pac
● pal
Slow trip Slow drip
Stopped the train Stopped the drain
Spare time Spare dime
Pack it up Back it up
California peaches California beaches
An excellent pie An excellent buy
Tough crime Tough grime
A large class A large glass
Super clue Super glue