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Chenyincheng Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
The silent "t"?
Hi all, I recently attended a phonics seminar. In the seminar, the lecturer mentioned that now most Americans skip the "t" sounds in words as they speak, and gave an example of the word "county", which sounded like "coun-i". Native speakers, is this true? If so, any tips for us whose first language isnt English to help us identify the words we hear. Personally I think thats one of the reasons why we sometimes have difficulties understanding spoken English by native speakers. Thanks!
Top answer
He's talking about words where the syllable following the 't' is unstressed. It's still audible, however; just not too obvious as an actual 't'.
- He's talking about words where the syllable following the 't' is unstressed.
- It's still audible, however; just not too obvious as an actual 't'.
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7 Answers
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He's talking about words where the syllable following the 't' is unstressed. It's still audible, however; just not too obvious as an actual 't'.
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See How to pronounce a 't' in American English
That thread gives you more than you ever wanted to know about the pronunciation of T in American English. There is a brief discussion at the end of that thread regarding your question.
CJ
That thread gives you more than you ever wanted to know about the pronunciation of T in American English. There is a brief discussion at the end of that thread regarding your question.
CJ
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CalifJimAnd then I discover that it didn't work after all! What's up?Don't know. Poltergeists, I suspect.
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Go to the menu that lists all the forums.
Select ESL Common English Questions and Answers - Archived Posts
Within that group there's a thread entitled How to pronounce a 't' in American English.
That's the thread to read.
CJ
Select ESL Common English Questions and Answers - Archived Posts
Within that group there's a thread entitled How to pronounce a 't' in American English.
That's the thread to read.
CJ
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We do pronounce the 't' in a word such as county. It is heard more clearly in some regions than others but I've never heard, "Coun'y" in America. I believe some dialects on the British Isles do this but I will leave that for them to comment on.
We do have words where the 't' is completely silent in some regions. A good example is 'often'. I say, "of'en" but others say "often".
We do have words where the 't' is completely silent in some regions. A good example is 'often'. I say, "of'en" but others say "often".
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cwtchI've never heard, "Coun'y" in AmericaYou didn't grow up in Michigan it seems.
CJ
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