Hadar Shemesh breaks down how Americans pronounce T in different positions: before /r/ it blends with a /ʃ/-like sound, at the end of words it's held, after /n/ in unstressed syllables it often disappears (wanted, Internet), and before unstressed schwa + n it becomes a nasal release (kitten, mountain).
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Hi, it's Hadar. And this is the accents way. Your way to finding clarity, confidence and freedom in English. And today we're going to talk about the T sound. This sound, this consonant sound, is one of the most varied sounds in American English because the pronunciation of the sound really depends on its position in the word. A t at the beginning of a word doesn't sound like a t at the end of the word, doesn't sound like a t in the middle of the word. We've already discussed in previous videos the pronunciation of a t at the beginning of a word. An aspirated T, as in time take, or the beginning of a strong syllable, as in fantastic. You can check out the video. We also talked about the flap T a T between two vowels, as in Betty getting or about it. Today we're going to talk about a few other positions and different pronunciations of the T. So let's get started. When the T appears before an R at the beginning of a word or the middle of the word, as in the word train or country, you don't hear a distinct T sound. So it doesn't sound like train. It sounds like train. Do you hear the difference? The difference is that instead of pronouncing a T sound, you pronounce a T sound. It's like a T with a sh connected to it, as in cherry or chips. Train. A T at the end of the word or before a consonant is a stop t or a held T. You hold it instead of releasing it. For example, foot ball. Foot ball. Alright, you don't hear foot ball. You don't hear that pop, right? T. But you raise the tongue up for the T. The tip of the tongue remains up, blocking the air. And then you continue directly to the next sound. Foot ball. White. Curtain. White. The T remains there, right? The tongue remains there, white. And then I shift to the K sound without releasing the t. A white curtain. Get some. Not get some, get some. The T is also held or barely released when it's at the end of the word. Like cat, right? I don't say cat, right. You don't hear a strong t, but a light hardly released T. Cat. Get. Wait. A T after an N in an unstressed syllable is often eliminated, as in 20 or wanted or Internet. Do you hear it? I'm not saying Internet or wanted but wanted. I'm moving from the N to the rest of the word, skipping the T. Wanted. 20. Internet Interview Center. Now, some people do pronounce the T sound in these positions. Center. Internet Interview International. But the More frequent the word is, the more likely the T is going to be dropped. Alright, so try it again with me. Wanted. Internet Center. Santa. Like Santa Claus instead of Santa. Again, both pronunciations are perfectly fine and you'll be well understood if you pronounce it with a t or without a t. When a t appears before an unstressed vowel, hence the schwa and then an n, the T is not released, but it's released through the nose, as in the word kitten. Kitten. Alright, so let's figure out exactly what we're doing here. The tip of the tongue goes up for the T Kit. But it's not released. That means you don't hear that pop sound. T T. All right, so the tip of the tongue goes up. Kit. And then you open a gap that is in the back of your. In the soft palate, the back of your mouth towards your nose. Kitten. Then you release the air through the nose and then you connect it directly to the end. Kitten. Mountain. Cotton. Forgotten. All right, so it's not forgotten. All right, it's not even forgotten. Although this is the preferred option if the TN sound is difficult. All right, so you bring the tongue up. Forgot. And then you release the ear. Forgotten. Alright, that's it for today. So practice the different T's. I bet that now you'll start hear hearing the different sounds because you're aware that there are different sounds and they don't all sound the same. And once we hear the differences, it's a lot easier for us to produce the differences. All right, I hope you have a wonderful week. Practice. Because practice makes perfect. And please share this video with your friends if you found it helpful. Thank you for watching and I'll see you next week in the next video. Bye.
