Pronunciation: [ˈaspəɹˌe͡ɪts] (IPA) 
The word "aspirates" is spelled with the letter "s" and not "c" because it comes from the verb "aspirate" which is pronounced /ˈæspɪreɪt/. The sound /s/ is heard at the end of the word and not /k/ which is the sound produced by the letter "c". The word aspirates means to pronounce with a strong rush of air, like the sound "h" in "hello". It is often used in linguistics to describe particular sounds made in speech.
Aspirates are a kind of consonant sound that is produced by a sudden expulsion of breath. This term is commonly used in phonetics, the study of speech sounds and their production. Aspirates are characterized by a strong flow of breath as the primary articulatory feature, resulting in a more audible and forceful sound.
To understand the concept of aspirates, it is essential to recognize the difference between voiced and voiceless sounds. Voiced sounds involve vocal cord vibration, while voiceless sounds are produced without vocal cord vibration. Aspirates are a subset of voiceless sounds, characterized by a strong exhalation of breath.
In many languages, aspirates are contrastive phonemes, meaning that they can change the meaning of words when used in different contexts. For instance, in English, the aspirated "p" sound differentiates words like "pat" and "pat." The former includes a strongly expelled puff of breath, while the latter is voiceless but unaspirated.
Aspirates can be found in various languages worldwide, including English, Hindi, Mandarin Chinese, and many others. They are often marked in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) with a superscript "h" after the corresponding voiceless consonant symbol. For example, the aspirated "p" sound is represented as [pʰ].
Overall, aspirates are phonetic features that contribute to the distinctive sound patterns and meaning distinctions of languages. Understanding their production and usage is crucial for accurate pronunciation and effective communication in phonetically rich languages.
* The statistics data for these misspellings percentages are collected from over 15,411,110 spell check sessions on www.spellchecker.net from Jan 2010 - Jun 2012.
The word "aspirates" is derived from the Latin word "aspiratus", which is the past participle of the verb "aspirare". "Aspirare" is composed of two Latin words: "ad", meaning "to" or "towards", and "spirare", meaning "to breathe". Therefore, "aspiratus" in Latin means "breathed upon" or "breathed out". In English, "aspirates" refers to a linguistic term that describes the sound produced when air is expelled forcefully through the vocal tract, creating friction or breathiness.
