Summary of "What is Aspiration? | Connected Speech | English Phonology"

Definition of aspiration

Aspiration is a short “h”-like sound or small puff of air that sometimes accompanies certain consonants.
In phonetic transcription it is shown with a raised small h: ʰ placed after the consonant (e.g., [pʰ], [tʰ], [kʰ]).
The letter h (as in “hello”, “unhealthy”) represents an aspirate sound; aspiration as a process also involves adding a short /h/-type puff to other consonants.

Which sounds are aspirated in English

Aspiration occurs with the three voiceless plosive (stop) consonants: /p/, /t/, /k/.
These are voiceless stops — the vocal cords do not vibrate during the release.

The rule for aspiration

Unvoiced plosives /p, t, k/ are aspirated when:

They occur as the only consonant in the syllable onset (i.e., no preceding consonant in the same onset), and
They are at the start of a stressed syllable (often the first sound of a stressed word or syllable).

Notes:

Aspiration usually occurs at the beginning of words/syllables; it can sometimes appear in the middle of words (e.g., “upper”, “super”) but never at the end of a word or syllable.

Examples and exceptions

Aspirated (target plosive is the sole onset consonant of a stressed syllable):

time — [tʰaɪm]
pot — [pʰɒt]
top — [tʰɒp]
cat — [kʰæt]

Unaspirated (no aspiration when the plosive is in an onset cluster or before /j/):

spot — [spɒt] (no aspiration of /p/ because /s/ + /p/ is a two-consonant onset)
stop — [stɒp] (no aspiration of /t/ because /s/ + /t/ is a two-consonant onset)
cute — [kjuːt] (no aspiration of /k/ before /j/)

Always unaspirated in word- or syllable-final position (e.g., word ending in /t/ or /p/ shows no aspiration).

Phonological / functional points

Aspiration is phonetic, not phonemic in English: whether a consonant is aspirated does not change word meaning (e.g., “top” with or without aspiration is still “top”).
Aspiration mainly aids clarity in pronunciation rather than serving to distinguish lexical items.

Practical steps for learners

How to identify if a consonant should be aspirated:

Check that the consonant is one of the voiceless plosives: /p, /t, /k/.
Confirm it is the only consonant in the onset (no preceding consonant in the same syllable).
Confirm the syllable is stressed (often the first syllable of a one-syllable word).

How to feel/verify aspiration:

Put your hand in front of your mouth and say the target word (e.g., “pot”, “time”, “cat”). You should feel a small puff of air for aspirated sounds.
Compare pairs aloud while feeling for the puff (e.g., “pot” vs “spot”; “top” vs “stop”).

How aspiration is shown in transcription:

Add a raised small h ʰ after the consonant to indicate aspiration (e.g., [pʰ], [tʰ], [kʰ]).

Notes & common exceptions:

Aspiration often occurs word-initially in stressed syllables; it sometimes occurs medially in casual speech (e.g., “upper”, “super”).
Aspiration never occurs word- or syllable-finally.
Because aspiration does not change meaning, variation in its use mainly affects clarity; do not worry if your aspiration varies.

Examples cited

hello / unhealthy — example of the /h/ aspirate sound itself
time — [tʰaɪm] (aspirated /t/)
pot — [pʰɒt] (aspirated /p/)
spot — [spɒt] (/p/ not aspirated; onset cluster)
top — [tʰɒp] vs stop — [stɒp] (aspiration vs no aspiration)
cat — [kʰæt] vs cute — [kjuːt] (aspirated vs not aspirated)
upper, super — possible medial aspiration in casual speech

Source / speaker

Billy (video narrator/presenter)

Category

Educational

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