Practise a Sound
24 American English consonant targets, tagged by sound — not spelling. (The letter C can be /k/ or /s/; S can be /s/ or /z/.)
P
/p/
P sound · e.g. “pig”
A quiet popping sound made by closing the lips and letting air burst out.
B
/b/
B sound · e.g. “ball”
The bouncy voiced partner of P — lips pop with the voice on.
T
/t/
T sound · e.g. “tooth”
A light tapping sound made with the tongue tip behind the top teeth. (Between vowels American English often uses a flap, so medial words here keep a clear /t/.)
D
/d/
D sound · e.g. “dog”
The voiced partner of T — a tongue-tip tap with the voice on.
K
/k/
K sound · e.g. “key”
A back sound made by lifting the back of the tongue. Spelt with K, C or CK.
G
/g/
G sound · e.g. “goat”
The voiced partner of K, made at the back of the mouth. (G before e/i can be /dʒ/, as in giraffe.)
NG
/ŋ/
NG sound · e.g. “finger”
A back nasal sound. In English it does not begin words, so practice is medial and final.
TH
/θ/
Voiceless TH · e.g. “thumb”
Quiet TH as in 'thumb' — tongue peeks between the teeth, voice off.
TH
/ð/
Voiced TH · e.g. “this”
Buzzy TH as in 'mother' — same tongue position, voice on. Mostly in small function words initially.
Word library being expanded
S
/s/
S sound · e.g. “sun”
A long snake sound. Spelt S, SS or C (city). Note: S in 'nose' is /z/, so it is not here.
Z
/z/
Z sound · e.g. “zoo”
A buzzy bee sound — the voiced partner of S. Often spelt with S, as in 'nose' and 'toys'.
ZH
/ʒ/
ZH sound · e.g. “treasure”
The voiced partner of SH, as in 'treasure'. Rare in English and mostly medial.
Word library being expanded
H
/h/
H sound · e.g. “hat”
A breathy 'hah' sound. In English /h/ begins syllables only — never at the end of a word.
J
/dʒ/
J sound · e.g. “jellyfish”
The voiced partner of CH, as in 'jump'. Also spelt G or DGE.
L
/l/
L sound · e.g. “lion”
Tongue tip up behind the top teeth, voice flowing around the sides.
R
/ɹ/
American R · e.g. “rabbit”
The American R. Consonantal R (rabbit), vocalic R (car, bird) and R blends (tree) are practised separately.
W
/w/
W sound · e.g. “watch”
Round lips that open up — 'wuh'. Only begins syllables in English.
Y
/j/
Y sound · e.g. “yo-yo”
A smiley glide as in 'yes'. Only begins syllables in English.
Word library being expanded
