Stops

P, T, K have aspiration patterns that differ from the prototypical English patterns of aspiration. As this is a complex issue, it is discussed under ‘current research’ below.

There is not much to be said about B, D, G as a set. T, D however, are subject to variation. The usual variants are alveolar [t] and [d]. However, retroflex variants are still heard, though this feature is recessive in InSAfE, and not the prominent characteristic it is in IndE. Furthermore, the degree of retroflexion (curling of the tongue tip to strike the palate) is not as strong in InSAfE. Retroflex  are far outnumbered by their alveolar equivalents and there are no contrasts made between [t] and  or between [d] and . They are stylistic variants: the more 'public' or 'formal' the speech, the less retroflexion; the more vernacular the context and emphatic the utterance, the greater the likelihood of some retroflexion. Thus die might ordinarily have alveolar [d] but in emphatic (vernacular) utterance, Go and die!, the chances of a retroflex  increase.