Sound | Tongue | Lips | Jaw | Teeth | Air | Vocal Chords |
---|
/ˈ/ | | | | | | |
/p/ | Place the tip of your tongue behind your upper front teeth, or slightly below them, so that the air is completely blocked in the oral cavity. | Round your lips tightly, creating a seal to prevent any air from escaping through your mouth. | Keep your jaw relatively tense and stable, without any movement. | The teeth should not be involved in the production of this sound. | Build up air pressure behind the blockage created by your tongue and lips, and then release the air suddenly by popping open the lips, causing a burst of air to be expelled. | Do not use your vocal cords to produce this sound, as it is an unvoiced sound. |
/l/ | The tongue is against the back of the upper teeth. | | | | The air flows around the sides of the mouth. | The vocal cords vibrate. |
/i/ | The tongue is tense and rises high. Then it moves to the front of the mouth. The tip of the tongue is low and behind the bottom front teeth. | The lips are tense and wide. | The jaw drops, opening the mouth a little. | | | The vocal cords vibrate. |
/t/ | The tongue will come up. The front part will touch the roof of the mouth behind the top teeth. Then it will pull down to release the air. | | | The teeth are together. Then they separate. | Air passes through the mouth. First, the air stops. Then, it flows. | The vocal cords do not vibrate. |