Description of English plosives

1. These are oral consonants, i.e. the soft palate is raised blocking
the nasal tract.
A complete blockage of the mouth is produced by putting two
articulators in close contact with each other.
The air is released suddenly, producing an explosion.
We distinguish three stages in the production of these sounds:
Closure Compression Release
marilimaldonado@gmail.com

2. Voiceless bilabial plosive /p/
Spelling:
Regular: pin – ape – lip – appear
Occurs in initial, medial and final position.
Exceptional: hiccough
Silent in: pneumonia, psychology, receipt, cupboard, raspberry
[cʰ] [pʰɪn] [əˈpʰɪə]
[cc̥] [pɹ̥eɪ] [pl ̥eɪ] [pj ̊ʊə]
[c ̚] [kʰæp ̚tɪn] [tʰɒp ̚d̥ɒɡ̊] [ʃɒp ̚ɡ̊ɜɫ] [slɪp ̚pʰɑ.st] [hɪp ̚b̥əʊn]
[kʰæp ̚tʃɔɪ̆s] [tʰæp ̚d̥ʒɔɪ̆nt]
[cɴ ] [tʰɒpɴ məʊ̆st] [læpɴ naɪn]
Initial clusters: [spin] [splaʃ] [spɹaʊ̆t] [spjuːm] [pɹ̥eɪ] [pl ̥ʌm] [pj ̊uːb̥]
Final clusters: [kʰʌpɫ ̩] [læps] [ɡæsps]
marilimaldonado@gmail.com

3. Voiced bilabial plosive /b/
Spelling:
Regular: bin – labour – lab – rabbit
Occurs in initial, medial and final position.
Silent in: comb – subtle – debt – limb
[c ̚] [əb̥ ̚tʰeɪn] [d̥ʌb ̚d̥] [ɒb ̚dʒek ̚t] [sʌb̥ ̚kʰɒnʃəs] [rɪb̥ ̚pʰeɪn]
[ɡ̊ləʊb ̚bləʊ]
[cɴ ] [læbɴ mɑ.stə] [rɪbɴ n̩]
Initial clusters: [b̥ləʊ] [b̥ɹaɪ̆t]
Final clusters: [tʰeɪ̆bɫ̩z̥] [kʰeɪ̆bɫ ̩]
marilimaldonado@gmail.com

4. Voiceless alveolar plosive /t/
Spelling:
Regular: tin – ate – pet – attorney
Also: Thyme – Thames – parked – watched – pizza - blitz
Occurs in initial, medial and final position.
Silent in:castle – soften – mortgage - Christmas
[cʰ] [tʰɪn] [əˈtʰaɪ̆ə]
[cc̥] [tj ̊uːb̥] [tw̥aɪ̆s] but [tɹ̥] [tɹ̥i.t] [stɹ̥i.t]
[c ̚] [ð̥æt ̚tɪn] [hɒt ̚d̥ɒɡ̊] [ð̥æt ̚ɡ̊ɜːɫ] [lɒst ̚pʰɑ.st] [hɪt ̚b̥æk]
[ð̥æt ̚tʃɔɪ̆s] [ð̥æt ̚d̥ʒɔɪ̆nt]
[cɴ ] [ðætɴ mæn] [kʰɔ.tɴ naɪn]
Initial clusters: [stɪk] [stjuː] [stɹ̥əʊ̆k] [tɹ̥eɪ] [tw̥eɫv̥] ̥
Final clusters: [b̥ɒtLɫ z̩] [b̥ʌtɴ n̩z̥]
marilimaldonado@gmail.com

5. Voiced alveolar plosive /d/
Spelling:
Regular: dig – ladder – lad
Occurs in initial, medial and final position.
Silent in: sandwich – grandfather – handsome - landscape
[c ̚] [b̥æd̥ ̚tʰaɪm] [ɡ̊ʊd ̚deɪ] [ɡ̊ʊd ̚dʒɒb̥] [ɡ̊ʊd̥ ̚tʃɔɪ̆s] [sæd̥ ̚pʰeɪn]
[ɡ̊ʊd ̚bləʊ]
[cɴ ] [sʌdɴ n̩] [ædɴ mɪt]
[dɹ] [d̥ɹiːm]
Initial clusters: [d̥ju.k] [d̥weɫ]
Final clusters: [rɒb ̚d̥] [fəʊɫd̥] [reɪzd̥] [b̥eɪðd̥] [lʌvd̥] [d̥ʒʌdʒd̥]
marilimaldonado@gmail.com

6. Voiceless velar plosive /k/
Spelling:
kettle – occur – disc – conquer – racquet – stomach – chicken - taxi
Occurs in initial, medial and final position.
Silent in: muscle – knew - knit
[cʰ] [kʰɪt] [əˈkʰɔːd̥]
[cc̥] [kj ̊uː̥] [kw̥aɪ̆t]
[c ̚] [b̥æk ̚tʰaɪ̆ə] [b̥læk ̚b̥ɔ.d̥] [d̥ɑ.k ̚ɡ̊ɹeɪ] [θɪk ̚d̥ʌst] [b̥læk ̚kʰæt]
[d̥ek ̚tʃeə] [lɒk ̚d̥ʒɔː]
[cɴ ] [pækɴ mæn] [d̥ɑ.kɴ naɪ̆t] [b̥eɪ̆kɴ ŋ̩]
Initial clusters: [kw̥aɪ̆ət] [kj̊uː] [skɹ̥iːm] [kɹ̥aɪ] [skweə]
Final clusters: [b̥ʌɫks] [b̥æsks] [bʌkɫ ̩z̥]
marilimaldonado@gmail.com

7. Voiced velar plosive /ɡ/
Spelling:
go – egg – spaghetti – rogue – guard -
Occurs in initial, medial and final position.
Silent in: sign – gnaw - diaphragm
[c̥] [ɡ̊ɜːɫ] [d̥ɒɡ̊]
[c ̚] [b̥æg̊ ̚paɪ̆p] [rʌɡ ̚bi] [b̥eɡ ̚d̥] [wæɡ̊ ̚teɪɫ] [b̥ɪɡ ̚ɡeɪm] [b̥ɪɡ̊ ̚kʰɑː]
[b̥ɪɡ̊ ̚tʃeə] [b̥ɪɡ ̚dʒɔː]
[cɴ ] [d̥ɒɡɴmə] [ɪɡɴ nɔː]
Initial clusters: [ɡ̊wen] [ɡ̊ɹəʊ] [ɡ̊ləʊ]
Final clusters: [stɹ̥ʌɡɫ ̩z̥] [b̥æɡz̥̥]
marilimaldonado@gmail.com

8. CRUTTENDEN, A. (2001) Gimson’s Pronunciation of English. 6th
edition. Arnold. GB
COLLINS & MEES (2008) Practical Phonetics and Phonology. A
resource book for students. 2nd edition. Routledge. London
O’CONNOR, J. (1998) Better English Pronunciation. CUP. London
PONSONBY, M (---) How, Now, Brown Cow? Prentice Hall. London
marilimaldonado@gmail.com