How To Pronounce P, T and K in a British Accent
- Ashley Howard
- Mar 15
- 3 min read
Today's lesson is about how to pronounce an P, T and K in a standard southern British English accent (a variant of what's known as RP, or received pronunciation).
Here's what we'll cover:
If reading isn't your thing, here's a handy video explaining everything:
How To Pronounce P, T And K Sounds
All these sounds are made with the different articulators touching fully, air gathering with a bit of pressure and then a sudden release.
A /p/ is made with the two tips touching and then releasing apart; for a /t/ it's the tip of the tongue touching and releasing suddenly from the roof of the mouth; for a /k/ it's the back of the tongue against the soft palate (where the roof of the mouth becomes soft in the back of the mouth).
Out of the three sounds it's only really the position of the tip of the tongue for a /t/ that makes any noticeable difference to the quality of the sound: aim the tongue tip for the slightly bumpy ridge about a centimetre behind the top teeth.
How To Ensure You're Pronouncing P, T And K Voiceless
What's most important is that there should be a small puff of air after each of the these sounds. These are voiceless consonants.
To test this, get a 6cm by 3cm piece of paper (not card - it needs to be able to move easily) and hold it about 2-3cm from your lower lip.
When you make these sounds, if the piece of paper is blown and bends forward by at least a centimetre or two you can be sure that you are indeed releasing enough air. If not, you'll be to practice.
I demonstrate this in the video above.
Practice At The Beginning, Middle And Ends Of Words
For the /p/ sound:
pen open stop
For the /t/ sound:
to better not
For the /k/ sound:
can biker back
Phonetic Symbols For The T, P and K Sounds
In dictionaries you will see the phonemic symbol /t/ used for a 't' sound, /p/ used for a 'p' and /k/ used for a 'k'.
How To Do A British Accent Course - free
Before I share with you some sentences that you can practice with, it's just worth knowing that I have a free course on the standard southern British English accent.
I also have a comprehensive eBook with 12 hrs of audio, that covers this and every aspect of pronunciation and intonation in a Standard Southern British English accent.
How To Practice Your Pronunciation Of P, T and K Sounds
Here are some practice sentence:
She has a powerful presence. Her policies are poignant and embarrass her predecessors.
Having nearly tripped on the stones, Tom tiptoed tentatively into the stream of water.
The collapse in the economy needs careful consideration – the cause needs to be clarified.
Written by...
Ashley Howard MA, a UK voice coach with 18+ years experience, can help you speak the way you've always wanted to speak.
Comentarios