American Consonants

What is ACCENT?
Intonation
(Speech Music)
Liaisons
(Word
Connections)
Pronunciation
(Spoken
Sounds)
AMERICAN
CONSONANTS
AMERICAN CONSONANTS
Behind the teeth At the Lips In the throat
unvoiced voiced unvoiced voiced unvoiced

voiced
t- d p - b k - g
ch- j f - v h -
- l - m - ng
- n - w - r
s- z
sh- zh
- y
AMERICAN T
1. T at the beginning of a word T is pronounced T as in

Ted or Italian (clear popped sound)
Examples: tell Tina tailor till
trousers
Top take tomorrow try
Todd
Practice:
1. It took Tim to try ten times to try the telephone.
2. Stop touching Teds shoes.
3. Tell Tinas tailor to take two tucks in the top of
Tims trousers tomorrow.
4. We try and try, but Todd still tells us to try
harder.
5. Ted took ten tomatoes.
2. With a stressed T and ST, TS, TR, CT, LT and
sometimes NT combinations, T is (T)
Examples: content contract state bits

Octave built silt
train
Practice:
1. He was content with the contract.
2. His voice is an octave state.
3. The silt built will last for any train.
3. T replaces D in the past tense. After an unvoiced consonant
sound f, k, p,s ,ch, sh, th except T.
Examples: laughed picked hoped

raced watched washed unearthed
raised judged smoothed
Exceptions: wicked, naked. crooked
Practice:
1. Sonny laughed hard after being watched.
2. Raised dogs were picked smoothly.
4. T at the middle of the word. T is pronounced as D as in
(Idaly) for Italy
Examples: Matty city Letty What a

Totally bought a Katie
lot of
Cottage daughter data got a
Practice:
1. What a totally naughty little daughter.
2. Matty got a little cottage in the city.
3. Letty bought a lot of bottles for Katie.
4. Katie got a data about the cottage in the city with
Letty her daughter.
5. T at the bottom of the word. T is not
pronounced at all like (ho) for hot.
Examples: Matt Pat set went

Got rat put lot
Practice:
1. She hit the hot hut with her hat.
2. We went to that Net site to get what we
needed.
3. Matt got to put Jims pet rat back in the
cage.
4. Pat set the date with Kate.
6. The Held T before N - you need a sharp upward sliding intonation up
to the held T, then a quick drop for the N.
Examples: written mitten patent sentence

Martin mutant forgotten bitten
latent certain button mountain
Curtain kitten fountain
cotton
Practice:
1. Hes forgotten the carton of satin mittens.
2. Shes certain that he has written it.
3. The cotton curtain is not the fountain.
4. The mutant went in the mountains.
5. Martin has gotten a kitten.
6. Britney study Latin in Britain
7. Whitney has a patent on those sentences.
8. He has not forgotten what was written about the mutant on the
mountain.
9. It is not certain that it was gotten from the fountain.
10. You need to put an orange cotton curtain on that window.
7. The T held after N - it becomes a silent T (T and N are so close to the mouth
that they simply disapper).
Examples:interview interface internet interstate

Interrupt interfere interactive
international
Advantage percentage twenty printout
Printer winter enter vintage
Practice:
1. He had a great interview.
2. Try to enter the information.
3. Turn the printer on.
4. Finish the printing.
5. Shes at the international center.
6. Its twenty degrees in Toronto.
7. I dont understand it.
8. She invented it in Santa Monica.
9. He cant even do it.
10. They dont have even want it.
The L the tip of the tongue is securely touching the roof of the mouth behind the
teeth, but the sides of the tongue are dropped down and tensed.
Unlike : 1. Compared to T and D produced by allowing a puff of air to come out

over the tip of the tongue. They are plosives.
2. N is nasal. The tongue completely blocks all air from leaving through the
mouth, allowing it to come only through the nose.
Examples of comparison:
At the beginning of a word:
Law gnaw taw daw

Low know toe dough
Lee knee tea D
At the middle of a word:
Belly Benny Betty

Caller Conner cotter
Alley Annies at ease
At the end of the word:

Hole hold hone hoed
Call called con cod
The invisible R. R takes place behind
almost closed lips back down in the
throat. Like L has a slight schwa sound
in it. It complements almost every vowel
sounds.
Examples: greek, green, grass, grow,

crow, cork, coral, cur, curl, girl. Gorilla,
Her, ergo, error, mirror, were, war, gore,
wrong, wringer, church, pearl
TH Tee Aitch not found in Filipino language. The voiced
TH is like a D, but instead of being in back of the teeth, its
inch lower and forward, between the teeth.
The unvoiced TH is like an S between the teeth. Think of
a snake tongue. It darts out between your teeth and snaps back
very quickly thing that this.
Voiced Unvoiced
The those them they that

theirs than thin thick throng thermometer
V as in Victory it shouldnt stand out too much.
Confused V: 1. W semi vowel, no friction or contact.

2. B like P, uses both lips and has a slight pop. But B is voiced
compared to P. 3. F has the same position with V but F is a hiss
sound while V is a buzz.
Comparison:
P B F V W
Perry berry fairy very wary

Pat bat fat vat wax
Paul ball fall vault wall
Pig big fig vim wig
Prayed braid frayed weighed
Poi boy foil avoid
Pull bull full wool
Purr burr fur verb were
Between B and V
1. Betty bought a bit of better butter.

It is evident that Vera was valuable.
2. Ben believes Bill broke Bobs box.
Cliff Claven was available for every version.
3. Billions of bagels are being baked in Brooklyn.
The navy revoked his visa for obvious reasons.
4. Babies babble and blow bubbles.
Beavers give the environment per valuable dams.
Between P and F - P is a popping sound while F is a hiss sound and held at the
middle of the mouth.
F P F P
Difficult typical deaf tape
Calf cap cough cop
Left leapt fat pet
Often open half and happen
Stuff stop Steph step
Enough and up laugh lap
Coffee copy free pre
Practice
1. Peter picked a peck of pickled peppers.
Fred forgot to fry fish
2. Its not important to provide perfect principles for young people.
Few friends fail to fight.
3. Hopscoth, lollipops, hoolahoops, and posicles keep a little nipper
happy.
Only a fool feeds fugu to friends.
S and Z ESS OR ZEE - the sound of letter S is only S if it follows an unvoiced
consonant. Otherwise, it becomes a Z in disguise. When an S follows a vowel, a
voiced consonant or another S, it turns into a Z.
S Z S Z
Price prize close to close

Peace peas use to use
S Z S Z
Place plays rice rise
Ice eyes pace pays
His his lacey lazy
Books waxes maps pencils
Months dogs hats trains
Pops oranges bats clothes
------------------
THE NASAL CONSONANTS
1. {m} is the easiest and most obvious. Like b, the lips come together, the
air cant get out, so it has to come out through the nose.
2. {n} is in a position similar to t, but cant be at all tense. It has to be

relaxed, filling the whole mouth, touching the teeth inside, leaving no air to escape
except through the nose.
3. {ng} is back with the throat. The back of the tongue presses back and
again, the air comes out through the nose.
M N NG
Rum run rung

Sum sun sung
Bum bun bung
Tum ton tongue
Dumb done dung
Psalm sawn song
THE AMERICAN X - The letter X can sound like either KS or
GZ, depending on the letter that follows the X and where the stress falls.
{KS} - followed by the letter C or other unvoiced consonants
examples: excite, extra, exercise, experience, except, execute, excellent
{GZ} - Followed by a vowel and usually stressed on the second

syllable
examples: example, exist, exam, exert, examine, executive, exit, exactly

American Consonants

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What is ACCENT?

Behind the teeth At the Lips In the throat

unvoiced voiced unvoiced voiced unvoiced

1. T at the beginning of a word T is pronounced T as in

Examples: content contract state bits

Examples: laughed picked hoped

Exceptions: wicked, naked. crooked

Examples: Matty city Letty What a

Examples: Matt Pat set went

Examples: written mitten patent sentence

Examples:interview interface internet interstate

Unlike : 1. Compared to T and D produced by allowing a puff of air to come out

Law gnaw taw daw

At the middle of a word:

Belly Benny Betty

At the end of the word:

Examples: greek, green, grass, grow,

The those them they that

Confused V: 1. W semi vowel, no friction or contact.

Perry berry fairy very wary

1. Betty bought a bit of better butter.

Price prize close to close

2. {n} is in a position similar to t, but cant be at all tense. It has to be

Rum run rung

{KS} - followed by the letter C or other unvoiced consonants

examples: excite, extra, exercise, experience, except, execute, excellent

{GZ} - Followed by a vowel and usually stressed on the second

examples: example, exist, exam, exert, examine, executive, exit, exactly

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