The Dropped T Sound

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American T Sounds Quiz

American T Sounds Quiz

The American English T Sounds

In yesterday’s post, I wrote about the 4 sounds of the American T * and I explained how Americans often use a tapped T sound

Go ahead and read that if you missed it~ the tapped T sound.

Today, I’ll tell you about the dropped T sound and how using it will make your American English sound smoother.

The dropped T sound

American English speakers frequently drop the /t/ sound when it occurs after the /n/ sound.

This is very common, especially  in everyday conversations!

In fact, last week I was working with one of my Japanese clients on the pronunciation of the words

  • internet
  • center
  • international

He was pronouncing these words with short vowel sounds and very heavy T sounds. The T sounds were louder than the vowel sounds.

That made the words sound choppy.

I told him that his English would sound more clear and natural if he dropped the sound of the letter T in those words.

Three examples

Here three examples of words in which many Americans drop the /t/ sound.

1. winter = winner -It’s too cold here in the winner!

2. twenty = twenny- Thomas is paid twenny dollars an hour.

3. plenty = I’ve got plenny of money.

There are MANY others!

Listen here

Sound smoother & more natural

Some of my clients prefer not to drop the /t/ sound and that’s OK. North Americans will understand you if you articulate the /t/.

However, if you want your American accent to sound more smoother and natural you can drop the /t/ sound when you say the words above.

American T sounds quiz

Here is a short QUIZ you can take to test your knowledge of the American T sounds.

The Sounds of the American T

The letter T makes a variety of sounds in spoken American English. Do you know what these sounds are? Do you know the rules for pronouncing the letter T? Take this quiz to test your knowledge.
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I can show you how

If you’re an international professional, who’d like to learn how to pronounce the American T sounds, check out my training programs at the link below.

My training programs will teach you how speak English in a way that your American colleagues will respect and understand!

About the author

Susan Ryan is the author of the ConfidentVoice blog and an American English communication and accent reduction coach.