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Do you pronounce words like "kitten" and "mitten" with a real /t/?

I don't know
1 (16.7%)
No
4 (66.7%)
I alternate
1 (16.7%)
I don't know
0 (0%)

Total Members Voted: 6

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Author Topic: The kitten's mittens  (Read 1674 times)

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Offline Jonathon

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The kitten's mittens
« on: May 22, 2007, 11:42:05 AM »
The zee/zed thread on Hatrack made me curious. How many people pronounce these words with a glottal stop or unreleased /t/? If you pronounce it with a fully released /t/, you should feel a little puff of air after it. If you do a glottal stop, your tongue shouldn't even touch the ridge behind your teeth until you make the /n/.
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Offline Tante Shvester

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« Reply #1 on: May 22, 2007, 01:32:33 PM »
My kittens and mittens have a very soft "t".  It's almost like a "d".

And where I grew up, "button" was pronounced "buh'in", no "t" sound at all.  When I got teased for that, I changed it, so that the "t" in "button" is pronounced the same way I pronounce it in "mitten" and "kitten".
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Offline Jonathon

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The kitten's mittens
« Reply #2 on: May 22, 2007, 01:37:13 PM »
Quote
My kittens and mittens have a very soft "t".  It's almost like a "d".
I have no idea what this means.
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Offline Tante Shvester

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The kitten's mittens
« Reply #3 on: May 22, 2007, 02:32:53 PM »
I don't pronounce it with a nice, crisp "t", a la Sidney Poitier or James Earl Jones.  My "mitten" sounds like it rhymes with "hidden".
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The kitten's mittens
« Reply #4 on: May 22, 2007, 02:37:14 PM »
How is that almost a "d"? It just sounds like a "d" to me.
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Offline Tante Shvester

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The kitten's mittens
« Reply #5 on: May 22, 2007, 02:58:40 PM »
I can discern, but not describe the difference.
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Offline Porter

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The kitten's mittens
« Reply #6 on: May 22, 2007, 03:02:54 PM »
I've found that with me, there are sounds which to me feel and sound different when I say them (which vs. witch, for example), but nobody else can hear a difference between how I say them.
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« Reply #7 on: May 22, 2007, 03:15:18 PM »
It is possible to think you're making different sounds when you're really not. Usually, though, it's just that people don't know what they're listening for. If you pronounce "which" and "witch" differently, it's presumably because you're putting an /h/ before "which."

Tante: This is one great drawback to online communication. In real life, I could hear the difference and tell you what you're doing. You'll just have to post sound clips, I guess. ;)  
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Offline Tante Shvester

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« Reply #8 on: May 22, 2007, 03:19:27 PM »
No microphone.  Unlike Porter, who has one, but for some reason, refuses to give me another dose of his banjo pickin'.

Not like I'm being a noodge, or anything.
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Offline Porter

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« Reply #9 on: May 22, 2007, 03:21:02 PM »
:D

 
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Offline rivka

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The kitten's mittens
« Reply #10 on: May 22, 2007, 03:23:09 PM »
Quote
If you pronounce it with a fully released /t/, you should feel a little puff of air after it. If you do a glottal stop, your tongue shouldn't even touch the ridge behind your teeth until you make the /n/.
Ah! Ok, then I really do say a released t. At least, I do when I'm paying attention to whether I am.
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