Mastodawn

I don't know exactly how to explain this, but is there a thing where the (I don't know what it is called} the sound at the end of some consonants, especially the letter "T" is being softened or is disappearing?

For example, I hear people (somewhat more frequently in the UK, but also in the US) pronouncing a word like "cotton" more like "caugh-en." Maybe I haven't explained myself clearly, but if you have an idea and a better way to describe this and whether it is a real, new thing, I would appreciate hearing!

#linguistics #pronounciation

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George Liquor, American

@MylesRyden It's called T-glottalization. The T sound ends up getting made not in the front of the mouth with the tongue pressed up to the hard palate, but farther back in the mouth by briefly restricting the flow of air to approximate a T sound. Good observation there

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MylesRyden Oct 20

@liquor_american

I thought there was a "glottal" something there. Are "regular" Ts are referred to as "plosives," if I am recalling correctly?

Is this substitution a new thing or becoming more common? As an old guy, I find it a bit irritating as I hear it as a bit of vocal laziness, but that is just me being a grumpy old man.

Thanks!

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George Liquor, American Oct 20

@MylesRyden Yes, a sound where you completely block the air momentarily is a plosive.

I don't really know about trends, but I know this particular habit isn't anything new. I had an Irish teacher in high school who would fuss at us for not pronouncing the Ts in "Atlanta," for example. This was many decades ago, mind you. But then as now I literally know zero people from the USA who pronounce those Ts "properly."

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Ergative Absolutive Oct 20

@MylesRyden @liquor_american Both regular t and the glottal stop are varieties of plosive. Regular t is an 'alveolar plosive', and the glottal stop is 'glottal plosive'.

Glottal replacement is pretty well attested, and has been for generations.

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𝔸𝕟𝕔𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕊𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕤 🔉Oct 20

@MylesRyden @liquor_american
It's pretty old (over 100 years in the UK) but spreading to more dialects, such as American