ENGLISH LANGUAGE S.S.S2 THIRD TERM

WEEK FIVE

THEME: SPEECH WORK

CONSONANTS - PLOSIVES

PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVE

Students should be able to;

1. Identify consonant plosives
2. Explain consonant plosives

CONTENT

Plosive consonants are made by completely blocking the flow of air as it leaves the body, normally followed by releasing the air. English pronunciation contains 6 plosive phonemes: /p,b,t,d,k,g/:

The sounds /b,d,g/ are voiced; they are pronounced with vibration in the vocal cords. /p,t,k/ are voiceless; they are produced with air only. The voiceless plosives are often aspirated (produced with a puff of air) in English pronunciation.

Plosive Spellings

Common spellings for each plosive are underlined below:

/p/: purse

/b/: bell