The pronounciation of t / d sound

Question

I have learned that d sound can be an alternate pronounciation of t sound in the word kindergarten.

Is it an exception or does it happen in other words as well?

However, as far as I know, d sound is voiced but t sound is unvoiced and then how can they be interchangeable?

Or people often misspelled the word kindergarten as kindergarden. Is that why d sound is allowed to be an alternate pronounciation of t sound in the word kindergarten?

And I have learned that t/d sound can become a flap sound in daddy and water. Can I say that the flapped sound is the same as each other or there is some slight difference between them like voiced or unvoiced?

What do you native English speaker think? Thank you so much as usual.

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

Hans51I have learned that the d sound can be an alternate ~~pronounciation~~ pronunciation of the t sound in the word kindergarten. Is it an exception, or does it happen in other words as well?

It is mostly an exception. There may be other cases where a 't' is pronounced as 'd', but I can't think of any just now. These other cases, if they exist, are also exceptions.

This claim does not include the cases where intervocalic 't' is pronounced the same as an intervocalic 'd' in American English. Examples follow.

Each pair below is pronounced the same. The sound used for the 't' or 'd' is called a "tapped t" or a "flapped t". It's a voiced sound, and it's the same as the tapped or flapped 'r' in Spanish or Italian.

kitty, kiddie; latter, ladder; catty, caddie; otter, odder; waiter, wader; waiting, wading; betting, bedding; wetting, wedding; liter, leader

Hans51However, as far as I know, the d sound is voiced but the t sound is unvoiced and then how can they be interchangeable?

In 99.9% of the cases, they are not interchangeable.

Hans51Or people often misspelled the word kindergarten as kindergarden. Is that why the d sound is allowed to be an alternate ~~pronounciation~~ pronunciation of the t sound in the word kindergarten?

Yes, this is very likely the reason. People hear it wrong, then they spell it wrong, and soon no one is sure which version of the spelling or the pronunciation is correct.

Hans51And I have learned that t/d sound can become a flap sound in daddy and water. Can I say that the flapped sound is the same as each other or there is some slight difference between them like voiced or unvoiced?

That's correct. When a 't' or 'd' sound is needed between a stressed vowel and a following unstressed vowel, either of these sounds will be changed to the same tapped 'r' sound (voiced) described above.

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

Hans51people often misspelled the word kindergarten as kindergarden

That spelling, by the way, started right away. The word was coined in 1840 in German, and English is a Germanic language.

Anonymous · Answer

Hans51I have learned that d sound can be an alternate ****ounciation of t sound in the word kindergarten.

Your spelling needs a minor correction. Apart from that, what you asked about is part of North American English. So is the use of alternate instead of alternative.

The pronounciation of t / d sound

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