Park or bark? The /p/ sound that Arabic doesn't have

The rule

For both sounds, close your lips, then open them. /p/ has no voice and a small puff of air: pin, park, pay. /b/ uses your voice and almost no air: bin, bark, bay.

Arabic has ب but no /p/, so many learners say /b/ for both, and park sounds like bark. French speakers have /p/, but English /p/ at the start of a word has a stronger puff of air.

Examples

In a conversation

A: Can I borrow a pen, please?

B: A pen? Sure. Blue or black?

A: Black, please. It's for my project.

B: Here you are. Please bring it back!

Practice

Choose the best answer. The answers are at the end of the lesson.

1. Which word starts with a different sound?
   • a) bag
   • b) pack
   • c) big
2. Can you ___ the car near the shop?
   • a) park
   • b) bark
   • c) bike
3. Which word has the /p/ sound?
   • a) cab
   • b) rib
   • c) cup

Tip

Hold a sheet of paper in front of your mouth and say pin, then bin. The paper should move for pin and stay still for bin. After s, as in sport or speak, the puff is much weaker.

Answers

1. b) pack. pack starts with /p/; bag and big start with /b/.
2. a) park. park means leave the car; bark is what a dog does.
3. c) cup. cup ends in /p/; cab and rib end in /b/.

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