English Fluency: T pronunciation: 5 rules for when the /t/ changes to a GLOTTAL STOP | Bakul Soman

In English, there are specific contexts in which the /t/ sound gets “swallowed”. This means, you omit the /t/ sound, but that’s not all. You actually replace the /t/ with something else. That something else is called a Glottal Stop. The Glottal Stop does not have any sound associated with it. It is actually a movement that produces a short, but very noticeable, tense pause.
Most commonly, it is the /t/ sound that changes into a glottal stop. This happens in many English accents. Received Pronunciation use it infrequently. However, many British regional accents use it. If you want to hear great examples of the glottal stop, listen to Adele speak! In her regional London accent, it is used liberally! American English also uses it very frequently. As I have mentioned in past videos, these kinds of sound changes could be why you have difficulty understanding spoken English, and why when you speak English, it doesn’t sound natural or fluent.
In today’s video, we are going to focus on the contexts in which the glottal stop is used in American English. First, we will review what a glottal stop is, and then learn 5 rules that govern when it is used.
Let us begin by reviewing what a Glottal Stop is. If you have already watched my Consonant Sound masterclass video ( • How To Perfectly Prono... ), you know exactly what a Glottal Stop iis. The name says it all! It tells you the manner and place of articulation!
Here is a quick review: A stop sound is a sound for which you are blocking airflow for a tiny bit to build up pressure behind the place of articulation. Sounds like b, p, t, d, and g are examples of stop sounds. In the case of a glottal stop, the place of articulation is the glottis. The glottis refers to the vocal folds and the space between them. The vocal folds are the 2 bands of muscle in your larynx that vibrate to create voicing. So, for a glottal stop, you are closing the vocal folds completely and creating pressure right below them. A glottal stop is voiceless, or unvoiced.
There are 5 rules, or contexts in which the /t/ sound turns into a glottal stop:
1) The t is followed by a vowel + n (sometimes called the syllabic /n/). Examples of this rule are words like kitten, eaten, button, etc.
2) Contractions with n’t. Examples: Don’t, won’t, couldn’t, etc.
3) Compound words, in which one word ends in t, and the next word/syllable begins with a consonant. Examples: catnap, batman, outfit, etc.
4) /t/ at the end of an utterance: Examples: a lot, in the hat, on the mat, etc.
5) In an utterance where word 1 ends in /t/, and word 2 begins with a consonant. Examples: let go, hit song, cat door, etc.
For a change, I could not think of any exceptions to these rules!! So, if you can think of some after watching the video, do let me know in the comments section below!
Here are the links and resources referenced in today’s video:
🔴Consonant Masterclass: • How To Perfectly Prono...
🔴Watch the rest of the videos in my ACCENT series:
Here is why we all have an accent: bit.ly/46aSYxU
🔴Vowel Sound Masterclass: • Perfect Your English A...
🔴Consonant Masterclass: • How To Perfectly Prono...
🔴The Letter C: 3 Sounds, 6 Rules: • Master English Pronunc...
🔴Boost your English Proficiency: When to aspirate the /p/, /t/ , and /k/ sounds: • English Pronunciation:...
🔴Word Stress Patterns in English: • English Fluency: 6 Gui...
🔴The Rhythm of the English Language: • English Fluency: Rhyth...
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[@Bakul-Soman]

Hello folks, here is a link to the Consonant Sounds Masterclass video: Here are the links and resources referenced in today’s video:
🔴Consonant Masterclass: th-cam.com/video/Gtn6wXHC4zk/w-d-xo.html

[@joseutrera626]

Me gusta ❤❤

[@Bakul-Soman]

Gracias, José 🙏🙏