American English Phonetics

10.3.1 Bilabial stops: /p,b/

Under the influence of a following labio-dental sound, Dutch as well as English /p,b/ may be labio-dental rather than bilabial: the upper front teeth form a complete closure with the lower lip. Examples are /p/ in Dutch slaapwandelen, opvallen, and /p,b/ in English up front, obvious.

AN /p/ is unaspirated; AN /b/ is usually voiced. Here are some examples to practice the most important allophones of GA /p,b/.

[pʰ]

[p]

[p͜ʔ]

[b̥]