Unit 10: Bilabial Consonants

Bilabial stops: aspirated voiceless /p/ and voiced /b/.

Lezioni

/p/Sound /p/6 parole /b/Sound /b/6 parole /p/vs/b/Pair /p/ vs /b/12 parole

Unit 10 Guide: Bilabial Stops

Bilabial stops are produced by pressing the two lips together to block airflow completely, then releasing the air in a small burst.

The two sounds in this unit:

/p/ — voiceless and aspirated. The vocal cords do not vibrate, and a noticeable puff of air follows the release, especially at the start of a stressed syllable (pat, pin, open).
/b/ — voiced and unaspirated. The vocal cords vibrate from the moment the lips part (bat, bin, robin).

Voicing test: place your fingers on your throat. You should feel buzzing for /b/ but silence for /p/.

Aspiration test: hold your palm or a thin tissue close to your mouth. /p/ should produce a strong puff that you can feel or that flutters the tissue; /b/ should not.

Common pitfalls: under-aspirating /p/ (making it sound like /b/), and dropping the final stop in words like cup or cub. Always release the closure clearly enough for listeners to perceive the contrast.