Stops and affricates are types of blocked consonants. When linking to or from these consonants, all three parts of the sounds are important to understand.
The three elements of blocked consonants are:
- the vocal tract shape as it moves into the sound
- the blocking, or stopping of air
- the release, or aspiration of the sound
Additionally, it is important to understand that stops and affricates occur in voiced/unvoiced pairs. In these pairs, the articulation of the sound is the same except for the vibration of the vocal cords (voiced sound) or lack of vibration (unvoiced sound).
Linking Same Stops
To link from a stop sound into the same sound, the sounds merge. It is pronounced as a single sound except that the stopped portion of the sound is held longer than if the sound is representing only one sound.
Practice linking the same stop sounds:
1. flat‿tire: She was late because she had a flat‿tire.
2. limit‿to: There is a limit‿to Matt's patience.