This is definitely a regional accent thing. I pronounce the T in each of the words listed, and I'm from the south. If you are learning English, don't feel you are doing it wrong if you drop or pronounce the T, it varies across the country and most will understand you either way.
Same! I just made this comment haha. I thought it was a southern dialect habit or a regional difference in pronunciation. I intentionally pronounced those Ts just bc I thought it was southern improper grammar lol
this is not a regional thing, but an education thing. this lady is trying to make normal the stuff that causes the american english, a low class english. I always need cc to understand american english and I have a hard time understanding americans, while I have no problems to understand Europeans. the best english is not even taught in England but Nordic countries.
Baloney. It depends on what part of the US you are from. As an English tutor, I teach my students to pronounce the letters but I explain to them that there are many different pronunciations due to accents based on the region and dialect. I tell them not to assume they are doing something wrong. There are many videos showing the different accents. There are people within greater London who speak English and they have a hard time understanding each other. I was at restaurant in Indonesia once and an Australian came and sat to share some beers and chat. I had a very difficult time understanding him.
Thank you for your comment. Taught properly, the student can decide where and when the rules can be bent. Personally, I have little trouble in asking people to "enunciate please." All the best regards to you 🙏
An Australian, an American, someone from India, a Canadian, and a Nigerian all walk into a British pub and can't understand each other, including the barkeep. This sounds like a bad joke but it's true. 🤞
ITA as someone who has taught ESL. Her telling English learners not to pronounce t’s makes me wonder about her credentials. There are plenty of Americans who pronounce the t in these words. She chooses not to fully enunciate which is her choice. It’s not how all Americans speak.
Something that a learner should ALWAYS keep in mind is that, even though videos like this often say, "DON'T SAY THE 'T' IN THESE WORDS", these things are NOT set-in-stone rules. I'm from Ohio, and I've heard a PLENTY of people saying things differently. It is OKAY to pronounce the "T", because it is ultimately up to you.
I also get annoyed when these videos say things like "NEVER say YOU'RE WELCOME" as if nobody ever says it. I say "You're welcome" all the time and so do many other people I know, all native English speakers.
@@SalvableRuin Again, very true. I've heard my whole life that English is so hard to learn. I don't know if that's true but if it is, it is a real scandal to be conning people with trivial and false nonsense like, "never say, you're welcome". The honest truth is that many of these English videos are simply extending and complicating something which needs no further extending or complicating except to line the pockets of those giving "lessons" about "never do blah, blah, blah"
MrPeterJin Depends - if you want to do a specific dialect or accent then yes, its up to you. However if you want to pronounce the words correctly and accordingly to the pronounciation as the phonetic rules (the "set in stone rules" if you will) specify dropping the t is always wrong. This might be different in a century or so (languages evolve and change over time after all) but for now everyone dropping the t's does it wrong.
@@HH-hd7nd Agreed. Though I'm on the fence whether languages "evolve". Latin is much more specific and clear than french, italian and spanish. I'd say they devolved. Those languages are beautiful and understandable in their own right, and they're a bit far from their roots. They're simplified from their original version. IDK if that's evolving, I think the simplification is a form of devolving.
Having lived my whole life in california, I can confidently state that most in northern california pronounce the T in those words... Maybe not quite as crisply as the british do, but it is VERY different from dropping the T completely. Even in your american examples for indentify, the T sound was VERY easy to hear.
I hear a “soft” T in many of these American speakers, I don’t think it is completely eliminated. “Wanna” is more casual slang than formal speaking. “Count on” usually sounds more like “cown-don” than “cown-on”. Agree with others noting that it is more associated with regional dialect.
@@greyblob1101 Many pronunciations are regional, where I live people do pronounce it mirror with a very small percentage dropping the "or". My Mom would say a mirror reflects your image while mir was the soviet space station.
I have been asked if I was British for pronouncing "pretty" not instead of "preddy" or "purdy". I told them Purdy is a paintbrush manufacturer, and I am USA all the way.
I am 100% American but I always pronounce the T. I would feel like a rube if I didn't. They feel badly? Are their sensory skills lacking? I think we should encourage one another to go the extra step and pronounce words properly. If I said "wanna" I would be so embarrassed.
I noticed how Canadians speak is how non-natives speak, the "global" English. And the "global" English is becoming more popular than both British and American. Since there are 7.7 billion people on the planet and only 0.35 billion are Americans and Brits the "global" English will eventually win the race.
Aside from it being different by region, it can also be different by context. Where I'm from (Seattle, Washington) people generally do drop the T in casual conversation. But when emphasizing things, explaining things, or focusing on enunciation for professional reasons, we keep the T. But sometimes, people really enunciate their T to show irritation, too.
I’m from San Francisco and I say all of those words with a T. Sometimes it’s an unaspirated T, but it is definitely a T, which sounds a little bit different than eliminating the T all together. Some of the American examples you show have an unaspirated T. A few words that I say with an aspirated T are twenty, interest, and Internet. I grew up in San Francisco, but perhaps I pronounce the T because of my age, which is 71.
I agree. I pronounce the T in all these words, but I don’t enunciate it like a British speaker would. It’s there. If I wasn’t pronouncing it it would sound like it wasn’t there at all, and that is not how it is.
I’m from the Midwest and I pronounce the “t” in these words. I think it’s very hard to generalize the American dialect due to all the regional differences.
I'm southern and pronounce the t in every word except counter (as in the kitchen) if it's saying someone who counts, I'd say the t. I also realized I'd say gonna go by not wanna go.
Then I bet you pronounce the t in often too. I suspect that the movement bringing back the t's is related to an accommodating mindset and driven partly by contact with non-native speakers. Most of them deal with print before hearing native speakers, and they appreciate it when we pronounce the t that they expect to hear. I remember a conversation from about 50 years ago when I was 6 or so trying to figure out the right way to say 'county fair.' Listen to interviews where Hillary or Bill Clinton is the topic of discussion. Usually the interviewer, if American, will pronounce a full t in Clinton the first time they say the word, but once the topic has been established, they revert to a more common American pronunciation for the rest of the interview. This is basically the approach I use teaching ESL to adults. They need to be familiar with both pronunciations and realize that they are equivalent. But I definitely do NOT cave in to their wish that I fully realize every t because that would leave them poorly equipped to deal with normal American speech. When they talk, I let them render it in any form that communicates well.
@@koschmx I leave them poorly equipped if they depend on hearing t's that are not there. I'm in the US teaching people who want to interact with American clients and associates. I equip them to understand American speech by speaking like an American.
@@koschmx Oh, and like I said above, how they pronounce things is up to them. They are not poorly equipped if they pronounce full t's everywhere. They are poorly equipped when they are unable to understand Americans when we say words containing t.
It totally depends upon what part of the US you’re in. I live in New England, and say the T sound in most of these words. “Wanna” is just slang-like “gonna”. But is often a choice to use slang. I think we do that when we get comfortable or informal; but most people (that I know) tend to adapt and enunciate more carefully when in a professional conversation.
Yes exactly...but some Americans do put the T when speaking like often like ofen? I'm very pleased to know that you also love watching her..how often do you watch her?
I find it funny that you describe the change from "want to" to "wanna" as not a t drop, when phonetically that is the exact change. Most American pronounce "to" with a schwa instead of "o" sound so the change you are describing is literally a t drop. I'm a linguistics minor and we've actually discussed this example in my classes. Gonna is very different as it shortens "going" and removes the short i sound.
Also, do you think a true representation of how a person speaks is better encapsulated in an environment where they consciously are performing(professional) or more informal such as at home? I would say the latter as so many words i use in professional settings I'd never use without putting effort into trying to use them
As a kid, I lived in Kansas, California, Hawaii & Florida. I moved to Colorado in 1961 & have been here ever since. I have always said the Ts in these words. In fact I just tried & found it hard to eliminate the T sound in most of these words!
Sorry, Rachel, you've got this one wrong! "Want to" will not be replaced by "Wanna" As a native of New York City, I have ALWAYS pronounced the "t" in all the words you cite! Not pronouncing them I've found, is more a regionalism, common to certain geographic areas of the US.
There is casual speech, and there is more careful speech. I am originally from Brooklyn, with the accent from that borough. When I was growing up, I said the "t" in words like "identity," but also slurred through lots of words. I remember saying "fye dollas" for "five dollars," for instance. And gonna, shoulda, etc. So, yes, this is a regional thing, the "t" drop. Once I became a teacher of English, I stopped using the shortened forms, and added the voiced "r," too, because I relocated to New England and it was pretty much a necessity. So fuggedabout saying "cawfee" any longer! :)
@@abdulvahid93 That's because, sadly, very few people share Oliver's opinion. I think there's an ongoing process of acceptance of accents. On the other hand, non native speakers should stop obsessing over "native pronunciation" and embrace their accents.
@@cadicamo8720 Good advice. I'm looking for an Engineering Position which requires to collaborate with High Net Worth Individuals in day to day basis. And hiring managers are not happy with my accent. That even put a strain on my career as I had no issues when I was in Dubai but it's not working in San Francisco. 😆
I’m American born and bred; and I pronounce the “T”. Many of my English teacher relatives would have “skinned me alive” if I would have done other wise. I think Rachel is teaching an American accent that isn’t one that you should use with a university English professor, but one that the average American is comfortable with.
I don't think she has any right giving advice to anyone trying to speak English. She obviously has a hearing disability. Listen to her examples again and you'll clearly haer that most of them did not drop the t sound like she said they did.
I’m american and I have *always* pronounced the T’s in all of those words. I soften them a little bit, so you can still hear them, but just not as crisp and distinctly as brits pronounce them.
@@richardreinertson1335 Exactly. It’s like she only recognized one extreme or the other without even acknowledging there’s a middle ground. I realize that people can get sloppy and drop consonants when talking fast (myself included). But regardless of how many people do it, it’s still improper pronunciation. So I was appalled to hear a so-called expert actually INSTRUCT people to deliberately pronounce them as ‘twenny’ and ‘wanna’, etc. Even more appalling is, I believe this woman actually charges money for her services.
Rachel is describing natural, spoken English. A lot of Americans *think* they pronounce the T because we do if we read the word and say it in isolation. But I guarantee if someone recorded you speaking fast English to a friend, there is a very high likelihood of some dropped Ts in there.
@@TheJofrica Well, maybe sometimes but it's not really faster, just a bit less of an effort, I mostly prefer the English practice. This American 't' softening is pretty similar to what is going on in my local German accent ...and that means it sounds kinda bumpkinish ; )
As an ESL student I find this video interesting and I guess I will, for ever, mix the American and English pronunciation but I will try to practice these rules but at the same time I see no wrong or right since I think communicating is the main thing. Anyway, I find your lesson very, very interesting and I appreciate it.
I am a non-native speaker as well, and I can confirm from years of expeirence: please DO pronounce the "T" in words. It can be as a soft "T" or a strong "T", whichever may fit the word best. If you do not enunciate the consonant, it will be harder for people to understand what you say, and lead to constant corrections from others.
Most native speakers probably won't correct you unless the word is really pronounced wrong and they can't understand your pronunciation. I had some non native ladies working for me one time and their overall English was pretty good, but occasionally I wouldn't understand what they were meaning because the word was pronounced incorrectly. The one day one of them asked me for "Tippex". I didn't know what she wanted this for. It turns out she was asking me for "Teabags". So correct pronunciation is fairly important. So please pronounce your T's when they are necessary.
Great Explanation! I can fully understood no "T" intermediately in English conversation! Also I understood why Flap "T" happens during English speaking! I appreciated you because I have just started English speaking since 69 year of age. Now I'm 70. Very happy to know of it before too old. I'm sitting in the environment to use English because of working in a global company in Thailand.
I'm not an English-speaking native and that's very interesting. However (at the moment) I prefer hearing the T because it's easier for me to mark the words.
The same here... I'm studying English from Brazil and I prefer to not drop the "t". The words sound more clear to me, probably because that the languages based on Latin do pronounce the "t" vigorously.
I am a native American English speaker age 68, and I have studied linguistics and got high marks, and I can tell you, this so-called "teacher" is wrong. Pronounce the "t" sounds. Most Americans do. Americans might not enunciate the "t" sound as clearly as the Brits, but NO Americans that I know completely DROP the "t" sound. This "teacher" doesn't know what she is talking about.
@@dachickenlady The thumbnail and title are overblown and certainly clickbaity, but the content of the video hardly makes the same claim the title does. I'm fairly sure most of the people commenting how the video is wrong didn't bother to watch it. -She said "9 times out of 10" we'll drop the T. She never said "always". In my experience she is more or less correct. For example I don't know anyone who'd pronounce "t" in "pretty much". In that use even Brits sometimes reduce it. -She provides numerous examples in the video of what she's talking about, all of which sounded normal and natural to me. She does tend to talk about "dropped" Ts when they are actually reduced to a soft "d" sound, but that's a minor problem when you can clearly hear what she means in the examples.
Yes, what's happening phonetically speaking is what's called an unreleased T. A T is typically made by stopping the voice and airflow with the tongue in position behind the teeth and then releasing the explosive puff of air that marks a fully enunciated T. What happens here is just that the voice and airflow is stopped, creating a very swallowed sort of T, but it is still a T.
Oh my goodness! God bless you! This is the most accessible, simple, and effective way to learn such specific phonetic characteristics of American and British English. I am so glad I found your channel. I have been trying to perfect my English pronunciation and Your lessons are the key. Thanks a lot for your help!
This video gave you a bit of misinformation. I'm not sure if there's a single American accent that drops the t in those words. The t in American English tends to be softer. In some cases like butter, thirty, it's pronunced more like a d. In the cases for this video, the t is produced by moving the tongue where you would move to produce the t, and ending the sound by putting the tongue there. This produces an audible difference. I believe this sound is called a dental stop. Because of this we never confuse words like When - went Can - cant Ran - rant Boo - boot "Want to" is often shortened to "wanna", but this is more of a contraction than a pronunciation difference. That's why you also see "going to" as "gonna" and "fixing to" as "finna", even in writing. While you never see the t ignored in writing, not even as a common spelling mistake. We all hear the t, but because its subtle it may be difficult for foreign language learners to hear.
I often refer my students to your videos because I find you very clear and accurate. However, I differ from you when you say that Americans dropping the "t" in many words is a "rule." I would rather say dropping the "t" is a "feature in transition" (or it's lacking in precision or just inaccurate). I would resist the trend to drop the "t" as I resist dropping the "r" after "f" [fr] in infrastructure. My argument is that dropping sound features reduces the number of sound clues that listeners can use to interpret meaning, especially across the varieties of "World Englishes" (WE) or "English as an International Language" (EIL).
it's important to teach these features so non-natives can easily identify and understand the vocabulary and speech of the millions of native speakers that do this.
I don't pronounce the "r" in infrastructure at all. I do (as far as I can tell) pronounce the "t" in ALL these words mentioned. Frnkly, I can't reallly even tell a dfference.
During my time broadcasting school, pronunciation was one of the courses. I was taught that dropping the "t" in these words is "lazy language", and not acceptable for reading copy/VO's.
👍 I agree. It sounds quite lazy to me , and when I hear people speak dropping the "t" sound I always cringe a little. Unless we are just goofing around or using language in a playful manner. I don't let people know it that I noticed, and it isn't a huge deal, but promulgating lazy language I find quite disturbing. The truth is , at least I have found - how we speak and how we write can open (or close) a lot of doors for us throughout our lives. I don't know if advocating for a loosening of language opens those doors or makes them close , at least ever so slightly...and then to people learning (American) English as a second language on top of that...
My opinion too ! When I hear people dropping their "t"s, I have that picture forming in my mind of people slouching in a sofa, half-drunk and slurring their speech, couldn't be bothered to pronounce all the letters. Definitely sounds sloppy to my ears.
It’s not surprising to hear many Americans say that the do not drop the T in ANY of these words. Language is a subconscious activity and most people need training to hear what they actually say VS what they think they should say. I asked my mom to pronounce these words from a list and she sounded a true T in every case! Yet in casual conversation she dropped the T without realizing it. When I told her about this, she became annoyed at me and said she would never drop the T in any of these words. Also, Brits make an effort to speak RP English consciously when they record or speak in public, but they actually use a stop T in many of these words when they’re not paying attention to their pronunciation. So this video is on point. I do the same: I drop the T during a normal speech but when people ask me how to say these words I pronounce a True T instead. Denial or cognitive dissonance plays a big part in this case. Fighting my own cognitive dissonance is one reason I watch this channel. It makes me a better English teacher.
It's so true. I sometimes tease people from England for pronouncing America as "Americker" when it is followed by a vowel sound like "Americker is a great place to visit" or pronouncing drawing as "drawring." Most of the time they deny that. they have inserted an extra R sound because they are not conscious of their own accents.
great point, similar to the video she did about how native speakers will make lots of words within the sentence so unclear that, out of context, it’s nearly impossible to decipher what those words are. Pronouncing a word on its own, in isolation, and being conscious of how you’re pronouncing it, is very different from how you naturally pronounce it in a sentence.
The thing is that 90% of the time it’s still there but we just don’t emphasize it as much. It’s a soft t but still present. There are few exceptions to this and it changes regionally.
@@SalvableRuin Same here. I once asked a very educated British guy why he inserted an extra r between two words and he looked at me like I was a ghost. He sweared he wasn't doing that. It's called the intrusive R by the way.
As I say to my children, there is a T in there for a reason and if there are two T's together then it is even more important to pronounce them. We have the glottal stop in many regional UK dialects and dropping the T is sadly quite common. Water becomes wau'ah, better becomes beh'ah. It is an unconscious removal of a hard consonant but just because it is common doesn't mean it is right. Stand up for the T!!
Thanks a lot, a friend of mine when she uses your suggestions immediately speaks in a smoother and more connecterd manner. She starts sounding more native....
American here. I have been deaf/HOH all my life. I use "true t's" all the time. I had no idea Americans were dropping the t. I thought I was just not hearing those words correctly. Thank you so much, I learned precisely what I've been misunderstanding for 40+ yrs and now I won't wonder if it's real or the deafness. Your explanation was excellent. PS. Thank you for not playing background music! 😉
Great video! I am an English teacher, and I notice that most of us drop the T’s in rapid, everyday speech. We tend to pronounce them in slower or more formal speech. Just last week I told a student he got a 70 on a test and pronounced the T. He panicked thinking I said 17.
Actually this is why I make it a point to not pronounce the T when counting by 10's in my ESL classes. It really helps them differentiate between the -ty sound and the -teen sound
Sometimes the "t" isn't actually dropped or forgotten, it just isn't pronounced as distinctly as it should be. When talking fast it happens more often. There are a lot of words that get mispronounced with talking fast.
Exactly. Now why people, particularly young people, feel the need to speak 90 miles an hour I just don't get. Anyone care to explain why that has become a thing? It causes poor diction and therefore poor communication.
Thank you. I started thinking I was imagining it. I can hear the T in a lot of those and I know I would say indenification differently than identification. I'd slur the n into the I more in the first
@@virginiamoss7045 I think it's just because peoples brains are moving really quickly and people aren't slowing down the words for others because in thier own minds (not rudely they just genuinely don't understand) they aren't talking fast, because that's how fast thier thought s come
@@zuglymonster I've seen my grandson go from talking normally to ridiculously fast when he started private prep school. It is a competitive thing by his peers there adding unnecessary pressure to an already challenging curriculum. The faculty does not speak rapidly. Radio and television does not speak fast. It's a competitive anomaly among young people for some reason.
I am a Canadian English speaker and the T is usually pronounced where I live. I definitely pronounce it. There is no need to drop it just to fit in. English is used differently in different regions around North America and none of us are 'doing it wrong'.
I live just east of Toronto, Ont. Canada. Almost everyone who mentions the city never says or pronounces the second T in Toronto. It is everything from Torono to Torana to Toronno. There is a small city in Italy that is spelled Taranto. I guess that is one reason that Toronto has attracted so many Italian immigrants to the city.
The video is trying to help people sound more characteristically American. It's not saying one pronunciation is better than the other, or more right. It's DE-scriptive rather than PRE-scriptive. Language evolves and changes over time. Also, people seem to forget that orthography and pronunciation aren't always aligned. It's normal for sounds to shift and change over time.
Most American i have known pronounced T but not in Chevrolet which they say Chevrolay or chevy, Tsar or Czar they pronounce as Zar and action is pronounced Acshun.
English is my second language and my teacher in New York ( ESL Institute) taught me to pronounce the T on those words. When I mistakenly drop the T on twenty , people here in GA correct me and say: TwenTy..... I think the T should be pronounced, not because we might sound like British people, but because pronouncing the T it is the correct English.
I worked in America as an ocean lifeguard and the deck chairs and parasols were twenty dollars. Whenever I replied with ‘twenty’ to a ‘how much?’ question, people didn’t understand me 🤦♂️😂
@@josemateovalenzuela4504 me? I’m serious... lots of people didn’t understand when I said ‘twenty’ so I liked saying it and confusing them. (If you weren’t referring to me, no worries :)
ali kar thank you so much my dear teacher, that was so useful especially for none_native speaker s like me. you explain the details very well and the examples you use are so effective , so we can learn the lesson much more better, and this is appreciated by me, by the way ,I have a question. in the word"hunter" why don't we drop the "t"? according to the rule that you described I think I should remove the"t", but it is not like that ?thanks a lot for your answer
As a Japan-born Japanese with my first English teacher being British, it’s so hard for me to listen to English spoken by American people, of especially younger generation. I myself wouldn’t drop T sound when I speak but this helps me listening to American English.
Just letting you know in most of the American examples the T is not dropped, it is rushed or softened. I know because for me when I say "twenty" I still tap my mouth on the t part, though it doesn't make it sound like "twen-ti"
There is a variation on the dropped T I have noticed in myself (American) and others. This is a D for a T substitution. I hear this in numbers. Thir-dee for thirty, for-dee for forty, and so on through 90. I suspect it is done in other words as well.
Rachel I have always been pronouncing these words in a Britt fashion. I am an American Born in the Southern United States. I like to pride myself on speaking proper English in a fashion of an American. But I must say most of my teachers taught me a different way and I am taking this episode of yours very much to heart because.... I've been taking a lot of online courses from universities that offer them and I've noticed that the professors do exactly as you are saying here about not pronouncing the "T" under certain circumstances. This is what actually brought me to your episode. It's very ingrained me now because I am 66 years old. But I am going to try my best 😀🇺🇸 to speak like an American. Thank you for your channel. There is an exception to what I mentioned earlier in this post. ....My favorite teacher in the fifth grade was Mrs. Majors. She was the English teacher and she was very hard. You would speak properly or would not speak. I love that woman ❤️❤️❤️ to this day. Now that I pricked my brain and look back she spoke exactly the way that you are telling us that we should. God bless Mrs. Majors.
This is pretty helpful most for all of whom are not native speakers because those t sounds are what most heared it… of course it will change for those who live in the north, south, wtv. Thank you, Rachel!
I've seen on several platforms British accent being voted as the most beautiful one across the English language. I consider the proud and graceful pronunciation of the "t" to be one of the reasons.
I've lived in United States most of my life and t is pronounced in various parts where I lived except in words Action pronounced acshun, Chevrolet pronounced Chevrolay and Tsar or Czar pronounced Zar.
Thanks for this! I‘m German, but over the years, adopted an American accent rather than sticking with the British flavor I was exposed to when first learning English in school. The reason is that it flows from my tongue more naturally. BTW: Did anyone else noticed that the speaker in the „printer on the counter“ clip dropped the t in „counter“, but pronounced it right before that in „printer“? Made me smile.
It's not standard American English. The difference in the clips is that the Americans make it ident-ification and the Brits make it iden-tification. Both groups pronounce the /t/, the difference is where we break the syllables. Each syllable will have a vowel sound, with a few exceptions, but the consonants don't automatically go with one or the other the way they would in Mandarin. So, there's a bit of question as to whether that /t/ sound is in the previous or next syllable. It sounds like the Americans are dropping the /t/ because it doesn't come at the beginning of a syllable. It's still there and the mouth/tongue positioning doesn't change when you add the rest of the bits that allegedly trigger the rule. I'm sure that there are people who do drop it, just not the people in those examples and not anybody that you'd want to copy.
In midwest pronunciation, the t in the "ntV(V)" pattern is not so much dropped but undergoes mutation to either an Unvoiced Alveolar Tap ɾ̥, a Palatalized Voiced Alveolar Plosive with no audible release d̚ʲ, or for some speakers especially those near southern dialect concentrations, it can be further reduced to a secondary articulation with no audible release so that the pronunciation looks like nᵗ̚
This, totally, as a native Northern Californian. It's just plain weird trying to eliminate the /t/ altogether as she so carelessly generalizes. It's out there, but not nearly "nine-times-out-of-ten."
I was born in Detroit and was taught in elementary school to pronounce the t. I’ve taught my 6 year old to pronounce it also, mainly because using phonics, she will try to spell what she hears. I believe that anyone learning the language should try to learn it correctly and drop the t later should they decide. My little one has a hard time pronouncing the th sound. She says dat instead of that and spells it incorrectly in her sentences. Maybe at some point in the future if enough people drop the t, it may change in the dictionaries. Until then, I will continue teaching my little ones to try to pronounce words correctly.
I'm 15 and do the same, 'dey' 'dat'. I think speech therapy should be more open to help children learn. I can't pornouce the 'th' sound, and no therapy helped or noticed it. When I say 'th' its more of a f or d because of my improper speech. Luckily this doesn't cause problems.
Hold a pencil from nose to chin, across the lips. The tongue tip should lightly touch the pencil on every th. Make lists of words with beginning, medial, and final the. If it doesn't touch, you don't have th.
The thing is, languages change in this way all the time. Historical linguistics actually makes use of these in reconstructing old languages. If one "corrects" all these, one eventually ends up back at, say, proto Indo European. (Certainly, there were other changes as well, but the "original" way of saying something goes way back.)
This is so weird. I 'hear' the T mentally in all the American clips, bit when I listen closely it's not actually there. I wonder what causes that. Thanks for highlighting this! Im in Canada and our English is a hybrid between US and UK. I'm now wondering if I say the T naturally.
Nothing causes it. It's just dialect and regional variation. People talk differently in different places. Why do Bolivians speak Spanish differently to how Spanish people speak it?
I think that your tongue touches the roof of your mouth when you peonouce N and then your tongue is in the same place to pronounce T. You have to change how you pronouce N to be able to pronounce T. English is my second language and I was thinking about this situation months ago lol
I admire this girl, she always makes useful videos which help learners of English all over the world. Here is my contribution to those words above County ( ike Clark County)
Recently, I saw someone complain about a podcaster pronouncing the "t" in "exactly". I always pronounce the "t". "Exactly" doesn't sound exact without it. I pronounce all of those with a "t", but I'm American. However, I did grow up watching a lot of British movies and such. Perhaps that is why.
@@freepagan I know that. I was just saying that someone was complaining about a way that I and others pronounce it. It falls into the category of being pronounced differently by different people and I experienced it recently, so I mentioned it. I swear, no matter what you comment, someone has to have an issue with it.
I got my education from "The Adventures of Letterman" on the show, The Electric Company. You know, with Morgan Freeman. LOL! I used to watch it but I learned mostly in school.
After reading some of the comments: T-deletion (whether partial or complete)is a common phonological process in casual spoken English and this linguistic behavior can be observed in a wide variety of speakers across the US. The probability of observing instances of this linguistic feature--called tokens--is not narrowly attributed to one variable (like region) alone but can correlated to several: register of speech, # of syllables, ages, region, perceived / actual education, gender, sex, "race", etc. Even in one speaker alone, it's possible to observe a frenetic display of t-retention and deletion.
And also, for those professing to have 'always' pronounced the T (which may border the truth) really, the only way to know is not surmising but to do an actual experiment and which you record yourself--speaking to a friend, reading something and using a word list. The only possible problem is the "sociological interview problem" or in other words, you know that you're being recorded but there are ways around that.
I’m a native-born American as well as a former ESL teacher. I’ve always pronounced the “t” in words, and I’ve always taught my ESL students to pronounce the “t” in words.
Yes. She wildly exaggerates this defective English. I'm glad she didn't listen to Moon Zappa's Valley Girl Record. What would she say about Americans then? Oh Mi Gahd...Fer sure , fer sure...
I’m English and living in Britain, so I’ve no idea why I’m watching this 🤣, but I noticed that one of the comments had written the word ‘wanna’. I know language evolves but it worries me that people are using words like this because that’s what they hear and possibly don’t even realise that it’s wrong, especially when they’re just learning the language, yet that’s what you appear to be teaching. Really interesting video,though, well done. By the way, I always pronounce the t’s in words and would have been in big trouble growing up if I hadn’t!! 😊
As a native speaker I found this video to be very interesting, however for those out there who are actively learning the language I recommend that you pronounce the T for the following reasons: 1. Whether you pronounce the T or not, native speakers will not notice and it will not make you sound any more fluent. 2. Unless your english is already at a very high level in terms of correct pronunciation, emphasis, rhythm etc. Not pronouncing the T may sound like a mistake and possibly make it even harder for people to understand you. In my experience it is one of those things where when we say the word slowly, we pronounce the T because it is meant to be pronounced. However when used practically or in conversation the T may end up being silent unintentionally.
Yes, I highly suggest not dropping the T. It helps you picture the word and guide you in spelling it. Plus, it's also the right way. Just because native speakers do it, doesn't mean it's the right way.
Very useful comments here! I think these tips help non-native speakers (like me) to improve our listening skills, because we sometimes don't understand something due to the absence of the T sound.
My father was a (British) telecommunications engineer, and he told me that it's important to pronounce letters like "t" and "k", etc., because that's where the information is. If you get lazy and start to not pronounce those letters, it becomes more difficult to be understood, especially in noisy environments or noisy telephone lines. So don't be afraid to pronounce the "t"! 😊
As a non English native speaker, listing to podcast's and talk's show's.I noticed that "t" in the examples , is flap to the point almost disappear for my ear. However twenty is tweny . I may not drop the T in these words but it helps me to understand a native speakers and to improve my English hearing skill. Your advice is helpful thank you
British Received Pronunciation pronounces the letter t always. However, most Brits don't use RP, and many regional accents drop the t. The glottal t is a good example of this
What most teachers don't notice is that both American and British English are loosing popularity to the "global" English (spoken by non-natives) which could be described as non-lazy American English. So for eg. neighbour is neighbor but you do pronounce the T in all the words mentioned.
They don’t seem to be completely dropping the T in “identify.” They’re reducing it into a sort of flap, or lightly articulated d. In almost all of your examples, it’s at least lightly articulated. It’s like a mid point along the way to it’s disappearance. But even if it’s still audible there, it’s definitely an overall trend; twenty is definitely “twenny!”
It’s weird when I say twenty first century, I say twenny first, but when I say twenty on its own I pronounce the t lol. I’m also Canadian and normally pronounce the t’s, but I guess I say wanna. Maybe it’s just laziness
@@Ashley-cr4ow I don’t think “laziness” really figures into it; it’s just part of the phonological shirts that happen in all languages. But in a given speaker as well as a group of speakers, a change generally happens gradually rather than all at once.
@@Ashley-cr4ow The first thing I learned from Canadians living in the Toronto area is that you're supposed to say 'Toronno' or even 'Trawna' instead of pronouncing it with a 'T' in the middle. I guess different rules apply to different regional dialects, but the Canadians I met usually dropped the 'T' sound or pronounced it more soft than in British English.
I am from New England, Connecticut specifically, the "t" is pronounced in some of the words you mentioned. I did not say "often" pronounced because we don't usually pronounce the 't' in "often".
I live in Florida. When I was saying ofen, with no T, my teacher corrected me that I am wrong saying ofTen:) In spite of the fact, I always say ofen:) I asked her what is the correct way to pronounce the word? She said with no T. I said sorry, but you pronounce all the time ofTen, she said no you are wrong. The next day, she said ofTen many times, my classmates were just laughing. In reality, Americans don't hear what they are saying.
I think these are the kind of things that make American English harder than British English for beginners. At least for those who has Spanish as native language since we read every written letter. I remember 20 years ago I used to say "American English is harder to understand because I don't know where a word finishes and where the next one begins". Nowadays I think this "t" omission sounds cool and shiny and it makes the speaking task much easier more relaxed and comfortable. Just listen carefully how much effort and stress is needed by pronouncing "nt". - Back in time I thought it was a bug, now I know it's a feature. 😍 -
As a Chicagoan, the "want another" and "one another" reductions do *not* sound the same for me. In "want another," the first vowel is a very clear /a/. It has the same vowel as my "hot" or "cot." In "one another," that first vowel is a /ə/, which is the same as my pronunciation of the vowel in "cup" or "but."
Especially for the identify, identification examples, I find that I at least (a native speaker) voice the t (so that it sounds a bit more like a 'd') instead of dropping it in fast/regular speech. I would consider my accent to be closest to a mainstream american one, but who knows really.
I'm American, and I speak clearly. Annunciating the T's is part of that, as is annunciating all consonants. As people get older, their hearing deteriorates, and the high frequencies are the first to go. Those high frequencies are where the consonants are, the vowels residing in the lower frequencies. Consonants are more important than vowels where intelligibility of speech is concerned. That is why a hearing aid is more helpful in understanding speech if the high frequencies are boosted relative to the low ones. This is fresh in my mind right now, bc I am dealing with this with my 80yo mother. Also, any singing teacher or choir director will tell you that it's important to spit out those consonants. It's called "diction", and it's what makes the words possible for the audience to understand. If you care at all about being clearly and easily understood, annunciate clearly, and don't be lazy and gloss over your consonants, unless of course you enjoy having people ask you to repeat what you just said.
The most important thing in language learning is to be able to understand and communicate. It doesn't matter if you pronounce the 't' or not in these words.
I love this. I tried to deny it. But alas I cannot. Teaching early childhood and even elementry school I see why spelling is so difficult. You cannot add a letter that you do not hear when you say a word! Repetition and memorization. That’s the only way. My own children say “I wanna…” and it’s always driven me crazy. This really was so interesting.
Lol this just reminded me that when I was about 5 years old and a teacher asked me to spell a word (I don’t recall which one now) that had the letter “t”, but she pronounced it with a “d” sound, so I spelled it that way. I remember she laughed and corrected herself
What makes English so difficult for non-native speakers is that it is one of the few languages that is not a phonetc language. That makes learning it, and especially reading it, very hard for those who learn it as a second language. We just take the language for granted and don't realise how hard it really is because it is the only language we've ever known.
This is good observation. I came here because I had always thought of this. I'm an international student in the US. I observed exactly that Americans don't pronounce "T", and it makes lot of difference between native and foreign speakers of American English. Initially it sounds weird since I am used to pronounce loudly the T. I feel it's now a whole different new experience for me as a foreign student in US.
That was really a great lesson. This is the first time I come a cross a video like this explaining how Americans drop the letter "t" in speech. You explained everything about this issue in a very clear and understandable way. Thank you so much for that.
Not if you follow the advice in these videos. Good enunciation and pronunciation are what make great speakers. I listen to these for the nuances that occur but I am also aware that great speakers speak clearly enunciated words.
Pronunciation in different places even in USA are so different... I'm Mexican raised in Texas now living in Mexico it's very difficult to understand different expressions in Spanish... and some schools down here at B.C.S... teach British English.... im still learning different expressions and words in Spanish and British English pronunciation as well..... great video like all of your videos... thank you so much.... and by the way your hair looks beautiful Ms. Rachel God bless you always 🙏🙏
I'm sorry, but in most of the American versions of these, the T was still there, just much more rushed. Even your samples showed that. Maybe it's a regional thing too, but all the words that we used I have always spoken the second T.
@@504ever4 I know right in a lot of words it's not even a d sound either, it's just a faint n sound, I'm a southern hillbilly, my dialect is a nightmare for non native english speakers, they basically have to learn a different language when they come here, like switching from Spanish to Portuguese
I understand that it’s a known feature of evolving languages that ‘t’ sounds gradually become ‘d’ sounds or are dropped, as explained here. I believe the theory is that a ‘t’ sound takes slightly more effort to say than a ‘d’ sound, so over time it smooths off to a ‘d’.
It's noticeable with non-native speakers of English. A good example is the Filipino pronunciation of "tea." (this is not a jab at Filipinos; the ones I know are lovely people.) Speakers of other languages have trouble with many common English words. No native speaker of Spanish can ever pronounce "myrtle," for example. It is not laziness on their part; rather it is the fact that their native language does not have certain phonemes. How many English speakers can pronounce Polish names beginning with "Prz"?
@@maureenschorsch7476 "Stop using THAT word." Whom is free from guilt may throw the first stone. THAT'S the essence of the words Jesus said, according to the Bible. As being Swedish, I haven't read the Bible in English, so I can't quote it exactly, only translate from Swedish. Ps. Hereby I will use the other word you mentioned, just for the fun of it! HAD!! HAD!! HAD!! 😍😉
@@maureenschorsch7476 There is a difference in speech and in the written word. Most people write like they talk. Technically this is wrong to do but most of the time it's acceptable. I don't think of them as being over used in speech, however when writing complete sentences those words are needed. Mostly used in expressing certain tensity. Whadda ya know? I did not have to use the words "that" nor "had." Ooops!
It's ALWAYS bugged me when people drop their T. My mum is Canadian. My dad was American. I've lived most of my life in the U.S. So, now I'm wondering if my pronunciation has been strongly influenced by the British influence in Canadian English. I often get comments about how I sound SO smart, even when the topic is basic. Hm. I love watching your channel. I learn something every episode.
If you can even hear a differnt in these pronunc1ations you need to find another hobby. I can't hear the differnce with or "with-out" it (suppposedly). This is so arcane, its rid1culous. Not something to even worrry about.
I don't think anyone is saying that this middle consonant dropping (It isn't just T) is common in anyone born before, say 1980. It is a millennials thing, and even there it is a coastal thing. I noticed this and named it "dingbat speech." I live in Calif. It is very common on KPFK Pacifica radio, both hosts and guests. 90.7 FM, Los Angeles
These comments against this video.. please don't mind them. I teach English as a foreign language (I'm Brazilian) and recommend your channel to all my stds. Their pronunciation is a lot bettter these days thanks to you. Thanks, Rachel!
I'm a native Spanish speaker and I notice this all the time. Once I talked to an American guy, and she pronounce the word "advantages" without "t" sound and I asked her to repeat it again and she pronounced as British accent. I consider it's a thing that happens all the time in American speech, and people don't even notice it
What english have you learned in school ? Except in Europe, don't teach they all the american way ? And by all the hollywood movies, you must get used to this.
My guess is that Alejando is from Spain. In Spain, people probably try to learn European-style English. Similarly, Europeans who study Spanish typically study ''European'' or ''Peninsular'' Spanish.
@@m.wildanmubarok3478 I think this might be something lost in translation, although ''tipo'' or a similar word in Spanish also refers only to a man, so not sure why they have said ''guy'' for a woman.
I am fixing to teach English to a Spanish speaker, and it seems like I want to start with American pronunciation. I said "plate" and she thought I said "play"...
3:53. When somebody said "want another" I understood it as "one another". So, me as a nonnative English speaker, it was very confusing when it came to understanding "Want another". Now everything makes sense lol. All I can say is thanks a million Rachel, you're AMAZING!!!!
I usually give my little students both pronunciations and let them choose the one they feel more comfy with. They love being able to choose, and I noticed each of them tend to prefer the same line of pronunciation (all Brit or all Am) 😊
This is one of my pet peeves. I'm an American and I try to be aware of not dropping the T. One day my daughter was talking about a ki in. You know a kitten. We moved to western Massachusetts about 20 years ago when she was 7 so it wasn't because she was too young to know. She was just repeating what she heard. I also hear mountain pronounced as moun in. One word that drives me nuts and a lot of people, even people that speak for a living say. Impor ant , instead of important.
This is so funny to me. I'm from Maryland and I speak like your daughter. Even with words that end in 't', I'm barely pronouncing it...cat, pot, rut, bat, etc.
There's great value in this video! Most students seem confused about this variation in pronunciation. It is very enlightening! Although I feel like this is targeted for learners who seek a more sophisticated and elegant English. I myself find this very intriguing! Even though I think most learners shouldn't fret abou it.
I am a 70 year-old American and I have always pronounced the T. I also teach English and most everyone I know pronounce the T. I don't really believe Rachel's claim.
@@lemmonjeepgrl usually there is no such thing as poor grammar in linguistics, simply different sets of rules that different groups follow. Some in the south would say you were doing it wrong because you didn't make changes they did.
@@trevorbrooks7816 I'm from NJ, too, but i was taught in speech class to pronounce the T's...LOL the speech teacher saying "not eanuts, it's eaT nuTs" and her looking and sounding dumb kind of made me not want to drop my t's. (I had to take speech class for 12 years!)
One I was expecting to hear in this lesson was "mountain." I am from the West (first California, now Utah), and I hear so many people say "moun'n" that it drives me crazy! I have a degree in English, so I tend to listen to how people speak. There is also "I seen" for "I saw," but that's another soapbox!
Mountain in Utah is pronounced with a Glottal Stop. It's a related phenomenon, but not the same thing. It occurs due to the influx of people from England in the 1860's. There was a doctoral thesis by a BYU professor concerning the 'Utah glottal stop' for more information. It also occurs in words such as Layton or Clinton.
Born in the plains of the US and reared in California. I've been speaking American English for nearly 50 years and I pronounce the Ts in all of these examples.
Great video, Rachel! Canadians pronounce their Ts like a soft T like a tap on the palate which is almost a D. This would be close: idenDify, idenDification, twenDy, counDer, disappoinDed, disappoinDing, poinDed, prinder, painDed , accounded, dendist, But renTed. I've noticed Americans say vetrinarian instead of veterinarian or Canadian veDerinarian (which is really more of a soft T).
It sounds to me like the "n" starts the syllable that follows, rather than ending the prior syllable. I think the right approach here for learning is to start by articulating the full word, then letting the sounds soften naturally as fluency and speed are gained.
I'm English, and moved to the USA as an adult. The first word I struggled with (every time I need to ask someone for some😄) is when I ask for water 😄 In the USA it seems like the t is often replaced with a d sound.
