Sound Contrast

Listen to the difference between the consonant and vowel sounds in the following pairs of words. Then test your ability to hear the difference between them.

Consonants

• /l/ vs. /r/
• /s/ vs. /θ/
• /d/ vs. /ð/
• /b/ vs. /p/

Vowels

• /I/ vs. /i/
• /ɛ/ vs. /æ/
• /ə/ vs. /a/
• /ɛ/ vs. /e/
• /æ/ vs. /ə/
• /ɛ/ vs. /ə/
• /æ/ vs. /a/