# Minimal Pairs Bank

`scripts/minimal_pairs.py` reads this table. Each row is one contrast; Pairs are comma-separated "word/word";
Sentence gives a pair in context for listening discrimination ("Which did I say?").

| Contrast | Aliases | Pairs | Sentence |
|----------|---------|-------|----------|
| /ɪ/-/iː/ | i-ee, ship-sheep | ship/sheep, live/leave, fit/feet, sit/seat, hit/heat, bit/beat, fill/feel, still/steal, chip/cheap, rich/reach | Don't sit/seat there. |
| /æ/-/e/ | a-e, bad-bed | bad/bed, man/men, sat/set, pan/pen, had/head, sad/said, bag/beg, land/lend | I need a new pan/pen. |
| /æ/-/ʌ/ | a-u, cat-cut | cat/cut, hat/hut, bag/bug, cap/cup, ran/run, match/much, bat/but | Look at that cat/cut. |
| /ʊ/-/uː/ | u-oo, full-fool | full/fool, pull/pool, look/Luke, could/cooed, wood/wooed, stood/stewed | It was full/a fool. |
| /ɒ/-/ɔː/ | o-or, cot-caught | cot/caught, not/nought, pot/port, shot/short, spot/sport | It's a short/shot one. |
| /ɜː/-/ɑː/ | ur-ar, heard-hard | heard/hard, firm/farm, hurt/heart, curt/cart | It's a firm/farm. |
| /p/-/b/ | p-b | pen/ben, pack/back, pear/bear, pie/buy, cap/cab, rope/robe, pin/bin | Put it in the pin/bin. |
| /f/-/v/ | f-v | fan/van, fine/vine, ferry/very, safe/save, leaf/leave, few/view | It's a fan/van. |
| /v/-/w/ | v-w | vest/west, vine/wine, verse/worse, veil/whale, vet/wet | Go vest/west. |
| /b/-/v/ | b-v | berry/very, boat/vote, ban/van, best/vest, curb/curve | Is it the best/vest? |
| /θ/-/s/ | th-s | think/sink, thank/sank, path/pass, mouth/mouse, thick/sick, worth/worse | I think/sink so. |
| /θ/-/t/ | th-t | three/tree, thin/tin, thank/tank, both/boat, thought/taught | Three/tree in the garden. |
| /θ/-/f/ | th-f | three/free, thin/fin, thought/fought, death/deaf | It's three/free. |
| /ð/-/d/ | dh-d | they/day, though/dough, there/dare, then/den, breathe/breed | They/day came. |
| /l/-/r/ | l-r | light/right, lock/rock, glass/grass, collect/correct, fly/fry, play/pray, lead/read | Collect/correct the papers. |
| /l/-/n/ | l-n | light/night, lot/not, line/nine, low/no, lice/nice | Turn on the light/night light. |
| /s/-/ʃ/ | s-sh | see/she, sip/ship, sort/short, sell/shell, mass/mash | Can you see/she? |
| /tʃ/-/ʃ/ | ch-sh | chip/ship, cheap/sheep, chair/share, watch/wash, catch/cash | Watch/wash the car. |
| /dʒ/-/j/ | j-y | jet/yet, jaw/your, jello/yellow, jam/yam | Not jet/yet. |
| /h/-/∅/ | h-none | hair/air, heat/eat, hold/old, hear/ear, high/I, hand/and | Hold/old it. |
| /n/-/ŋ/ | n-ng | sin/sing, thin/thing, ran/rang, ban/bang, win/wing | That's a thin/thing. |
| /s/-/z/ | s-z | price/prize, bus/buzz, place/plays, rice/rise, ice/eyes | Win the price/prize. |
| /t/-/d/ final | t-d | bat/bad, cart/card, write/ride, seat/seed, white/wide | It's white/wide. |
| /k/-/g/ final | k-g | back/bag, duck/dug, pick/pig, lock/log | Put it in the back/bag. |
| final cluster | cluster | lend/lens, ask/asked, cost/costs, help/helped, world/word | I asked/ask him. |
| initial cluster | s-cluster | sport/support, sleep/asleep, state/estate, spy/espy | She plays sport/support. |

## Using minimal pairs

1. **Hear the difference**: teacher says one word of a pair; learners show 1 or 2 (cards, fingers).
2. **Same or different**: say two words; learners say same/different.
3. **Production**: learner says a word; partner points to the word they heard.
4. **In sentences**: use the sentence column; learners respond to meaning ("Don't sit there!" - learner stands up).
5. **Games**: minimal-pair bingo, stepping stones (move left for /ɪ/, right for /iː/).

Choose contrasts that matter for the class's L1s and for intelligibility (consonants and vowel length before
th sounds or the dark l).