Aspirated “t” sound VS Unaspirated “t” sound

Aspirated “t” sound:

1. When the word starts with “t”.
   Examples: table, take, talk, tango, tap, tea, teach, tear, teeth, tell, ten, tie, time, tongue, too, took, top, touch, toy, traffic, train, tree, trend, triangle, trip, trouble, true, try, turn
2. At the beginning of a stressed syllable.
   Examples: attack, attend, between, eighteen, eternal, Italian, mistake, particular, participant, photography, retire, return
3. After a consonant (except “n”):
   Examples: actor, after, doctor, empty, lunchtime

Unaspirated “t” sound (Held “t” sound)

1. At the end of a word – This is the way many words in sentences get linked together.
   Examples: amount, ancient, bat, boat, bet, bit, blunt, bought, but, can’t, cat, coat, dent, don’t, elite, faint, font, goat, hat, hot, it, lint, lot, mint, not, paint, pat, patient, pint, pot, rat, rent, rote, sent, slant, sweet, tint, vent, won’t.
2. Before a throat consonant (glottal consonant) in phrases
   Examples: bright white, rent control, what was, not really, heat wave, that one, what would, what could,
   The Glottal Stop “t” sound
3. When “t” comes before unstressed “un” sound /ən/.

Examples: beaten, bitten, Britain, button, certain, cotton, curtain, eaten, forgotten, fountain, gluten, gotten, important, kitten, Latin, Manhattan, mitten, rotten, satin, written

2. When a word or syllable ends with a “t” just before a consonant sound. *This can be in a word or in a sentence.

Examples: atlas, flightless, football, hate mail, greatness, right now, seat belt, settler, treatment, “What can you say?”, witless

When letter “t” sounds like /d/
Between two vowel sounds.
Examples: batter, bitter, butter, caterpillar, city, hotter, latter, letter, matter, meeting, meter, sitter, sweater, water, whatever,

2. After a “vowel + r” sound.
   Examples: barter, charter, comforting, dirty, quarter, thirty, …
3. Before the unstressed “ul” sound.
   Examples: battle, bottle, capital, fatal, hospital, rattle, metal, turtle, little, …
4. In a phrase or sentence, before the stressed vowel at the start of the next word.
   Examples:
5. He’s a know it all.
6. It was nice to meet Alice.
7. It’s not on the table.
8. What are you doing?

Practice
• Aspirated “t” sound
• Unaspirated (unreleased) “t” sound
• Glottal stop “t” sound (before ‘un’ /en sound)
• The “t” sounds like “d” (between vowels, before ‘ul’ sound)
*Keep in mind that the word before or after the “t”word can affect the “t” sound.

1. The cat sat on the mat.
2. Don’t forget to turn off the light.
3. The pot of tea was still hot.
4. The little kitten was so cute, with its tiny paws and soft fur.
5. Don’t be late for the meeting, it’s important to be on time.
6. The best time to plant a tree is in the spring.
7. The art exhibit was a great success.
8. It’s important to practice good habits.
9. The restaurant was out of chocolate dessert.

The æ sound

→ Uniquely American
→ Made combining short /e/ sound (egg) and /ah/ sound (on)
→ Said down in your throat with an open mouth
→ Spelled with “a”

-Ann
-hat
-Jan
-cat
-gap
-damp
-land
-tack
-wax

1. The black cat sat on the mat and scratched its back.
2. The athlete ran fast on the track and reached the finish line in a flash.
3. The architect designed a grand palace with a vast atrium.
4. The grasshopper jumped high and landed with a splash in the pond.
5. The astronaut blasted off into space and left the planet behind.
6. The master chef baked a cake with a special recipe that had a magical taste.
7. The rapper performed a rap song with catchy lyrics and a banging beat.
8. The actress played a challenging role and won an award for her performance.
9. The mechanic fixed the car’s engine and replaced the damaged parts with care.
10. The mathematician solved a complex problem with a theorem that was rare.

/ou/ vs /ah/

For /ou/ sound, your lips are in a circle.
For /ah/ sound, drop your jaw open.

-own on
-hotel hot
-joke John
-coat caught / cot
-goat got
-don’t dog
-loan lawn
-token talk
-won’t want
-woke walk

work
/ah/ sound sentences
John’s dog is on the lawn.
Do you want to talk on the phone.
Do you want some hot chocolate?

Words ending in /-rry/

-sorry, hurry, berry, merry, cherry, flurry, starry, scurry,

Sentences with words ending in /-rry/
I’m sorry to hurry you, but we need to carry the heavy laundry to the ferry before it gets too late.

Larry carried a basket of berries on the ferry to Jerry’s dairy farm. He was in a hurry to deliver them so he could scurry home and make some curry.

/er/ sound words
/er/: bird, work, user interface, certified, Arbor, squirrel, experience, earn, hurt, heard, word, first, firm, rather, sure, turtle, dirt, stir, sir, burn

Spelling possibilities: ear, ur, or, ir, er,

Sentences with /er/ sound words:
The nurse’s skirt was full of dirt.
Are you sure you didn’t hurt the turtle?
What was the first word you heard?
I saw a bird on my way home from work.
Is Rachel certified in user interface?
Do you live in Ann Arbor?
My shoulder hurts when I stir.
I’m certified as a front-end developer, specializing in user interface and user experience.

Long /a/ sound VS Short /e/ sound

-made med
-cane Ken
-gain again
-say said
-Nate net
-pain pen
-take tech

Descriptive VS Set Phrases

• Descriptive Phrases – 1st word describes the 2nd, so 2nd word is emphasized
• Set Phrases – both words recognized as an idea together, so 1st word is emphasized

Squeezed-out Syllables

-ev-ry
-fam-ly
-in-trest
-jewl-ry
-mem-ry
-ornge
-con-frence
-cov-rage

Read these sentences containing some squeezed-out syllables from above:

1. Actually, I prefer dark chocolate to milk chocolate on average.
2. Aspirin is a common pain reliever, but it’s important to follow the recommended dosage.
3. Broccoli is a nutritious vegetable that’s high in vitamins and fiber.
4. I find my new camera to be very comfortable to use, even for extended periods of time.
5. When I lost my job, I felt desperate and didn’t know what to do next.
6. It’s always interesting to try different foods from around the world, and every family has their own unique recipes and traditions.