Which statement describes a common English phonotactic pattern involving aspiration?

• A. The /p/ is aspirated in the onset except after /s/.
• B. The /p/ is always unaspirated in all onsets.
• C. The sequence /dl/ cannot occur in any word position.
• D. Glides are always voiceless.

Answer: (A)

In English, aspiration is the burst of air that accompanies the release of a voiceless stop in an onset position. A very common pattern is that these stops are aspirated in plain onset positions, but the aspiration is suppressed when the stop starts a cluster after /s/. In other words, the /p/ (and other voiceless stops like /t/ and /k/) is spoken with a noticeable puff of air in words like pat, top, or cat, but in clusters like spat, stand, or skate, the /p/ is unaspirated because the /s/ preceding the stop dampens that aspirated release.

So the statement describing that the /p/ is aspirated in the onset except after /s/ correctly captures this well-known English pattern.