In this video we are going to learn about the three aspirated sounds in English: the unvoiced stops (also called plosives) /p/, /t/ and /k/. These three sounds are always aspirated when they are the only sound in the onset of a stressed syllable. I know, this sounds a bit complicated! But fear not, I will explain what it means in a simple way, showing you a range of examples to help you understand. I will also show you how to show aspiration in a phonemic transcription using IPA.

I had a heavy cold whilst filming this video and sound rather nasal. I also pronounced the word ‘onset’ a bit funny at times – I clearly wasn’t quite myself. Apologies! But the rest should all be accurate.