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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Elisabeth M

@MylesRyden It's very common for this sound shift to take place on a word ending with N (cotton, button, etc). Other shifts show up for other word endings. For example, in the US it's common to shift the T sound to a D sound on words ending with R: pitter patter, flutter, butter, etc. (In some UK dialects these also become glottal stops, instead.) And have you noticed how the T completely disappears in the US shift from twenty to twenny?!

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MylesRyden Oct 20

@independentpen

Yes! Now that you mention it, that is a very common pattern.