Speech training

Lesson 9: /t/ - /d/

N G U Y E N N G O C N H AT M I N H , U F L S - U D
The sound

/t/
 How to make the sound
a. To make the target sound /t/, first put your tongue
behind your top teeth. Then push air forward inside
your mouth. **Then quickly move the tip of your
tongue away from your teeth to release the air
suddenly.** Don’t use your voice.
b. Notice that sometimes /t/ is quieter because the air
isn’t released suddenly. For example:
what ; forget ; doesn’t ; breakfast ;
minute ; minutes ; it’s exactly
Omit from ** to ** above to make this quieter sound.
/t/ in context
More about pronunciation of /t/
• /t/ is LOUD before a vowel.
oOne-syllable words: two ; to ; top ; ten ; tell ; tins ; Thai ; time
oTwo-syllable words: counter ; upstairs
oThree-syllable words: customer ; telephone ; tomatoes
oFour/five-syllable words: photographer ; cafeteria
More about pronunciation of /t/
• /t/ is often quiet at the end of a word.
hat coat skirt shirt first want what
get got right cricket bat opposite supermarket

• Practice a quiet /t/ here before a consonant.

hats coats skirts shirts what’s restaurants cricket bat
The sound

/d/
How to make the sound
a. First, practise the sound /t/.
b. Use your voice to make the target
sound /d/.
c. /t/ is unvoiced. /d/ is voiced.
d. Notice that sometimes /d/ is quieter
because the air isn’t released suddenly.
For example:
good ; food ; goodbye ;
friend ; child ; bird ; birds
Minimal pairs
/d/ is quieter in the words
‘send’, ‘card’, & ‘ride’.
Minimal
sentences
Practice 1:
Circle the words that you hear in the sentences.
Sentence (a) (b)
1. writing riding
2. cart card
3. bat bad
4. sent send
5. sight side
6. try dry
Practice 1:
Circle the words that you hear in the sentences.
Sentence (a) (b)
1. I don’t like riding. writing riding
2. That’s a nice cart. cart card
3. He bought a bat, racquet and some balls. bat bad
4. I send all the parcels by air mail. sent send
5. That’s the worst sight. sight side
6. I want to dry this shirt. try dry
More about pronunciation of /d/
• /d/ is LOUD before a vowel.
• /d/ is often quiet at the end of a word or before a consonant.
oE.g. stayed ; repaired ; It rained. ; bad cold ; They played
cards.
• Practise these words with a louder /d/ at the beginning and a
quieter /d/ at the end.
oE.g. did ; decide ; decided ; damaged ; David ; Donald