We all remember that rhyme from our childhoods.
The humor consists of the fact that "I scream" and "ice
cream" sound the same. But do they, really?
Say the rhyme again, but hold your hand very close to
your mouth. (If you want to be dramatic, you can
hold an open cigarette lighter in front of your mouth,
but be careful not to set your hair on fire. Maybe
it's best just to hold your hand there.) Notice
that when you say "ice cream" there is a puff of air
on the "c" that doesn't happen when you say "I scream."
That because in English, we aspirate voiceless
stops, like [p], [t], and [k], especially when they
occur as the first sound of a stressed syllable.
In "scream", the [k] is the second sound, so it doesn't
get a puff. In "cream", the [k] is the first sound,
so it gets aspirated.
French doesn't aspirate voiceless stops
([p], [t],
[k]). Listen to the difference
in these words:
French
English
There are certain instances where English doesn't aspirate
the voiceless stops; that's when they occur right after
the sound [s]. Again, put your hand in front of
your mouth and say the following pairs of words:
pot - spot
top - stop
cool - school
Notice that there is a whole lot less aspiration when
you say the second member of each pair. That's
the sound you need to try to get in French. It'll
take some practice, but you'll get it in the end.
And you'll sound a lot more French very quickly once
you do get it.
