Lesson 21: [p/pʰ] – Power, apparent, tap. Master the aspirated voiceless bilabial plosive [p/pʰ] consonant sound.
Relax and imitate the coach. Let your body and posture adjust so that you can make the sounds and pronounce the words comfortably.
In Standard American English, the [p] sound is aspirated, which is why it’s transcribe as [pʰ] here. Aspiration means that the sound features a puff or burst of air, generated by your breath. If you don’t aspirate your “p’s” in English, people might think you’re saying “b,” which can lead to miscommunication in words like pie/bye or pay/bay. Are you talking about a pastry or saying goodbye? Money or the ocean? Good to know, right?
With your teeth slightly separated and your jaw loose, close your lips a bit and start pushing air upwards towards your lips using your diaphragm. With your tongue in the position of the vowel sound that will follow the “p,” let a small puff of your breath escape through your lips. With a pleasant burst of air, a wonderful [pʰ] sound will come out!
Make sure that you are differentiating between “p” and “b” properly. Session 27 can help!
For beginners, it is best to just imitate and relax. While raising conscious awareness of lip, tongue, and larynx function, if you are not careful, you can experience fatigue or cramps. Hydrate properly, take breaks when tired, and remember to enjoy yourself!
Word Pairs
Power [ˈpʰaʊər]
apparent [əˈpʰɛrənt]
tap [tæpʰ]
paper [ˈpʰeɪpʰər]
apply [əˈpʰlaɪ]
trap [træpʰ]
penguin [ˈpʰɛŋgwən]
typewriter [ˈtaɪˌpʰraɪtər]
ketchup [ˈkɛʧəpʰ]
Lesson Transcript
21_p_sound_prelaunch_lesson.mp4
[00:00:08] P.
[00:00:22] Power.
[00:00:27] P a parent p
[00:00:34] tap p
[00:00:39] power p
[00:00:44] a parent p
[00:00:49] tap power
[00:00:54] apparent tap.
[00:01:02] Power apparent tap.
[00:01:10] Power apparent tap it.
21_26_stops_shared_prelaunch_lesson.mp4
[00:00:09] P b t
[00:00:15] d k g
[00:00:21] p b t
[00:00:27] d k g
[00:00:33] p b t
[00:00:39] d k g
[00:00:45] p power.
[00:00:52] B boom tap
[00:01:03] d dog c
[00:01:10] cap g
[00:01:15] good p
[00:01:21] power b
[00:01:25] boom t
[00:01:30] tap d dog
[00:01:37] c cap g
[00:01:42] good.
[00:01:51] P power apparent
[00:02:00] tap pu
[00:02:07] power apparent
[00:02:13] tap p power
[00:02:21] apparent tap.