In this instructional podcast episode, speech and fluency coach Hadar Shemesh explains how the /t/ sound is realized in American English when it appears before a reduced vowel (schwa) and an /n/ (as in "kitten," "button," "Manhattan"). She first reviews the three main positional variants of /t/ (initial voiceless stop, intervocalic flap, and the focus of the lesson). She then details the articulatory mechanics of the /t/ + schwa + /n/ cluster, describing how the tongue contacts the alveolar ridge for both sounds and why speakers often merge them. Two common pronunciations are presented: a "nasalized" or unreleased alveolar stop where the tongue stays in place and the vowel is omitted, and a glottal stop (an allophone) that replaces the /t/ entirely. She demonstrates each variant with word lists (kitten, button, Manhattan, etc.) and provides slow‑motion and faster drills, including sentence repetitions. Throughout, she reassures learners that using a regular /t/ is acceptable, encourages practice, and promotes her free Pronunciation Masterclass for deeper study.
Chapters
'Kitten.' 'Manhattan.' 'Forgotten.' 'Important.' How to pronounce this transition. Hi everyone, my name is Hadar Shemesheshemesh. I'm a non-native speaking and pronunciation coach, and today I'm going to teach you how to pronounce this 'tn' combination, the 't' and the 'n' that appear in some words. Because this is one of the most common questions I get when it comes to the pronunciation of the T. If you're new to my channel, my name is Hadar Shemesh. I'm a speech and fluency coach, and I'm here to help you speak English with clarity, confidence, and freedom. Definitely check out my website and social media for a lot of free content and resources and lessons. Okay, so the T is one of the most interesting sounds in American English because it is actually pronounced differently based on where it's positioned in the word. For example, a T in the beginning of a word is pronounced as /t/. Time, with that little H right after. Or a T in the middle of the word between two vowels, when it's unstressed, is pronounced as a D. A lot of you are probably already familiar with this sound. Betty, it is, about it, activity. And I have lessons about all of these different sounds. I'm going to list them in the description below. By the way, if you like pronunciation videos, make sure you sign up for my Pronunciation Masterclass. It is absolutely free and it's really going to give you the tools to understand first how pronunciation can help you level up your fluency and your clarity and your confidence. And second, the right strategies to really do this work and get results fast. This masterclass, like I said, is free and it's going to be available for you when you click the link below this video. Today, I'm going to go deep into teaching how to pronounce the T when it's before a reduced vowel, a schwa, and an N, just like in the word button. There are two ways to pronounce it in American English, and I'm going to teach you how to pronounce it, how, what to expect, and what is the predictable pronunciation so that you are not Don't get too stressed about it. Now, here is one big important disclaimer. All of the examples that I've given you, the aspirated T at the beginning, time, and the flap T in the middle, Betty, all of them can be pronounced with a regular T. Time, wait, Betty. You will be perfectly clear. This does not impact your clarity, okay? What I'm teaching you here is a nuance in American pronunciation specifically that you can start paying attention to. First of all, because I'm sure that you feel like there is a difference and you don't know what it is. So in this video, I'm going to teach you what that difference is so that you can start becoming aware of it. Second, some people are aware and they want to make that different sound, and this is your opportunity to learn. Knowledge is power, so you get to do whatever you want. Now, what happens here when the T appears before a reduced vowel and an N, like in the examples that we talked about? The tongue goes up to pronounce the T. Let's take the word kitten, or I'll say it fully, kitten. So we have a K, syllable, and then we have /t/ /ə/ /n/. The vowel between the T and the N is a reduced vowel. It's a schwa. It is barely there. So it's almost like the brain is saying, this vowel is not that important. Can we skip it? And then here's what's interesting. To pronounce the T, the tip of the tongue goes up to touch the upper palate, right?
/t/.
To pronounce the N, the tip of the tongue goes up to touch the upper palate. N. What's the difference? For the T, the tongue blocks the air, and then it gets released with a puff. T, T, T. That's a stop sound. For the N, the tongue blocks the air in the mouth, and the air comes out through the nose. N. Okay, there is like a little passage there in the back that opens up and air comes out through the nose and you hear it. This is why you can't make the N sound when you have a cold. Try it at home. So T, tongue goes up and releases, T and N, N, air comes out. So the brain is like, why do I have to do all this work? Let me take a shortcut. The vowel in between is not that important. So let's connect the T and the N because the tongue is already in the same place.
Tun, tun, tun.
And then it's like, well, why do I have to move the tongue and then bring it back to the same place? Let's skip that release and allow the air to come out through the nose.
Hmm. Hmm.
So the tongue blocks the air for the T, but you're not really releasing it, and then You open up the passage for the air to pass through the nose for the N. So the tongue blocks the air, and air comes out through the nose.
Hmm. K, hmm. K, hmm. B, hmm. La, hmm.
So it's— I know it's weird. But that is what you're hearing.
La-kn. Clean-kn. Found-kn.
Tongue goes up, air comes out through the nose. Tongue goes up, air comes out.
Okay?
That is one way of pronouncing this combination. Let's practice it in a few more words. Re-kn. Fergah, /n/. Thai, /n/.
Shore, /n/. Sir, /n/. Cur, /n/.
One more.
Mound, /n/.
Block the air in the mouth. Release it through the nose without moving your tongue. "Moun-tin." And here, there is an N before the T, so you bring the tongue up for the N, and then you just stay there until the end of the word. "Moun-tin." That's it. So, this is one way, but English is an efficient language, and the brain is lazy, and the tongue is lazy too. So now the brain is like, well, that's nice. We've made an improvement here, my friends. However, I want to make it easier. How can we make it easier? How can we let people know that there is a T here without really doing all this fancy stuff in the mouth? Because it's too much. It's too much. This is where the glottal stop comes in. So when you have the T, a reduced vowel, and N combination, usually at the end of words, as you can see, another way to pronounce it is simply by doing a glottal stop. A glottal stop is when you block the air here where the vocal folds meet. Okay? The vocal folds is what creates the sound in your mouth, your voice, right?
Uh, uh, uh.
Put your hand here on your Adam's apple, uh, uh, or vocal box, uh, uh, uh, right? You feel it every time you open up to make a sound, you actually open up the vocal folds. And when you close it without vibrating it, it creates the sound, uh. Uh, uh, this is called a glottal stop. Now, the glottal stop is not a phoneme in English. Uh, uh, it is in other languages, not in English, but it is an allophone. You'll hear it in English and different dialects of English, but you may not know that this is what you're hearing. So instead of pronouncing that nasal T, Kitten, as we practiced earlier, What you can do is just pronounce a glottal stop instead. That's another allophone of the T when it's right before an N in an unstressed syllable.
N, N, N. So a glottal stop is uh, uh, uh.
That represents the T and then an N.
N, N, N. Okay?
I know it's weird, but bear with me. I'll get you there. "Kuh-nn." I'm not saying "nn," I'm not releasing it through the nose, I'm just making an "uh" sound, but the tongue is up, ready for the "n." "Nn." "Nn." So that's another way to pronounce all of these words or all of these combinations, the "tn" combination. Let's practice it. "Kuh-nn." Bun. I know it sounds weird when I do it in slow motion. We'll do it faster in a minute. Don't worry.
Sir-n. N. O. Uh.
Uh.
N. N. Sir-n. Moun-n. Foun-n.
Now let's do it a little faster. Kitten.
Bitten.
Written. Forgotten.
Manhattan.
Manhattan. Britain. Certain.
Critton. Critton.
Critton.
Latin.
Latin. Now, to clarify, it is perfectly fine to pronounce it with a regular T. Kitten, bitten. Okay? But if you want to go into the nuance of American English, these are your two options. Let's practice it in sentences. I'm going to say a sentence, and then you will repeat after me. I'm going to use the glottal stop. Okay? For me, it's easier. This is how I use it. But you can use whatever is easier for you. Alright, let's get started. Are you certain you want to climb this mountain? Are you certain you want to climb this mountain? Are you certain you want to climb this mountain? Did you see the kitten that had bitten me? Did you see the kitten that had bitten me. Have you noticed the past simple versus the past perfect here? Little grammar reminder. Did you see the kitten, past simple, that had bitten me? Past perfect because it happened before. I've forgotten all about his written statement. I've forgotten all about his written statements. Is he trying to threaten her?
Threaten, threaten, threaten.
Because she doesn't get frightened easily. Because she doesn't get frightened easily. Because she doesn't get frightened easily. When I'm going to Manhattan, I'm not staying at the Hilton. When I'm going to Manhattan, I'm not staying at the Hilton. Alright, that is it. I hope you found it interesting and fun to practice. Maybe you discovered a thing or two about your pronunciation ability and about your listening ability. And either way, just remember the most important thing is to sound clear and to know how people expect to hear the word, and that is what matters the most. And also remember that mistakes are a natural part of your learning journey and of becoming fluent. So don't be afraid of making mistakes. And one more thing, did you know that there are more allophones of the T, more different pronunciations of the T, more than what I had already talked about in the video? So if you know what those are, let me know in the comments below. Anyway, if you wanna learn more about pronunciation, make sure you grab your seat to my pronunciation masterclass. I'm going to put the link in the description below. It's absolutely free and it's going to blow your mind when it comes to understanding how pronunciation can impact your fluency and how you can optimize it so you too can become clear, confident, and expressive in English. Have a beautiful, beautiful rest of the day, and I'll see you next week in the next video. Bye!
