How to Pronounce: The different t sounds of American English, part 2

Hello! I’m John Russell In a previous video, I talked about how the letter “t” in American English changes to a /d/ sound in certain situations. The same idea holds true between words. Think of it as building a bridge between words. I’ll explain. Americans often change the letter “t” to a fast /d/ sound when a word ends with a vowel +t and the next word begins with a vowel. Think of a common statement you might use to describe the weather: It is hot. Notice that the “t” in “it” comes after a vowel. The next word starts with a vowel. So the “t” in “it” changes to a fast /d/ sound – the bridge between words. It connects the words. If I say each word individually, it sounds like this: It is hot. But when I build the bridge – the fast /d/ sound between words, it sounds like this: It is hot. Consider a longer statement such as this: It is a good day to eat out. I made the fast /d/ sound at the beginning and end of the word - it is and eat out. After all that talking of eating – I think I need to go get some lunch. That’s all for today. Keep up the good work! Originally published at - https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/5942788.html

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