Re: OT: Phonetics (IPA)

Nikhil Sinha scripsit:

> > Many English-speakers would hear your _t_ as _d_, I suspect.
>
> No, I pronounce t and d separately. Not many native English realise that
> there are two sounds of both t and d ( and also of p). One sound is aspirate
> and the other unaspirate.
The point is that in many varieties of English, aspiration is more important
than voicelessness in distinguishing /t/ from /d/.  These speakers will
hear an unaspirated [t], except after [s], as a [d].  And exactly the same
holds for /k/ vs. /g/ and /p/ vs. /b/.

Since you can readily distinguish [t] and [t_h], you will be better
understood if you consistently use [t_h] for /t/ except after [s],
where [t] is the right thing.

--
John Cowan  jcowan@reutershealth.com  www.ccil.org/~cowan  www.reutershealth.com
"If I have not seen as far as others, it is because giants were standing
on my shoulders."
        --Hal Abelson

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