Give Your P a Little Puff of Air

Tamil script doesn't distinguish between a puffed and unpuffed P the way English pronunciation does, so it's easy to produce English P sounds without the little breath that native speakers expect. At the start of words like 'pin,' 'pat,' and 'park,' American English P comes with a small puff of air right after it — almost a tiny 'h' sound hiding inside the P. Interestingly, that puff disappears when P follows an S, like in 'spin' or 'spark.' Skipping the puff at the start of a word can make P sound a bit like B to a native ear. Here's a quick test: hold a small piece of paper close to your lips and say 'pin.' The paper should visibly move from the puff of air. Try 'pat' and 'park' the same way. Then say 'spin' and notice there's barely any movement at all — that's expected! This small breath habit is easy to build with just a few minutes of paper-testing practice each day.