Pronunciation

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Hi folks  ?What's up?Hope everything is going wellI have a question for you.Does the Native Speaker of American English pronounce the flap T as R like in the word water? :/ :/I think it is (wader) not (warer) and I have watched some videos, supporting my viewpoint.May you help me to know if the /t/ sound can be pronounced as /r/ sound as in the word water and other words.Thank you so much in advance!I'm looking forward to getting your answer.

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

Gone WindDoes the Native Speaker of American English pronounce the flap T as R like in the word water?

The flapped T in American English sounds like the flapped R of Spanish or Italian. It also sounds like a quick English D. We use this sound for the T in "water".
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[The American flapped T does not sound like an American R. The only association it can have with an R is with the Spanish or Italian flapped R. For example, if a Spanish speaker says "beri" in Spanish, it will sound similar (though not identical) to an American saying "Betty". However, Americans make a stronger association between their flapped T and their own D sound because they have no flapped R and are not accustomed to hearing it.]
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CJ

Gone Wind · Answer

Thank you so much for your answer. I really appreciate it.
Actually, the phrase ( Got to ) When it becomes (gotta), I think they pronounce it like (gorra)
So is that an /r/ sound or just it's fast flapped t.
thank you in advance

CalifJim · Answer

Gone WindWhen it becomes (gotta), I think they pronounce it like (gorra)

Who are "they"? Americans?
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It really does little good to try to spell these things out in the 'Roman' alphabet, as with "gorra". For phonetics we need the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).
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Americans use the tapped/flapped sound [?] in 'gotta' [ 'ga.?? ]. It is informally called "tapped T", "flapped T", "tapped R", "flapped R", and "D", but to give it its formal designation we say that it is a "voiced alveolar tap". See http://westonruter.github.io/ipa-chart/keyboard/
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The sound described above should not be confused with the American R, whose symbol is [?]. Formally, this is a "voiced alveolar approximant". Thus, American "rash" is transcribed in IPA as [ ?æ? ].

Gone WindSo is that an /r/ sound or just it's fast flapped t.

Explained above. The sound in the middle of "gotta" can be described in any and all the ways I suggested above for the voiced alveolar tap.
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CJ

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