I’ve noticed that the number of views for my posts on language and linguistics is far smaller than for other subjects.

During a long drive with Pam, I was talking about the difference between theta and eth (the first is unvoiced, the second is voiced) and she asked “You really find this interesting, don’t you?”

I said “Yes,” and illustrated my point with a recently discovered tidbit. When consonants such as “p” and “t” are used at the start of a word, they are aspirated. That is, there’s a puff of air that comes out when you say them. But that doesn’t happen if the consonant is in the middle of the word. With the word “paper”, the first “p” is aspirated but the second is not.

I added that in Spanish, the “p” is never aspirated. To my English speaking ears, I would hear “b” when a Spanish word started with “p”.

I looked over and Pam was sound asleep. Luckily, it was me who was driving.