Most of you know I’m a stickler for precise articulation, but here’s an interesting contradiction to that.
Many times medial /t/ sounds can be changed to /d/ even in standard American diction. This is important to know when you’re voicing and going for a comfortable delivery. Let me explain….
The /t/ phoneme is produced with no sound from the vocal cords and only an explosion of air (read more about this). In our language, it often sounds over-pronounced to use a full /t/ phoneme in the middle of words especially those with double /t/’s. In these instances, it’s correct for the /t/ to sound more like a /d/.
Here are some examples of phrases and words that illustrate this point. Say the first two words in the list out loud. It is correct to pronounce the /t/’s as /t/’s here. Now say the single word next to the double words out loud. See if in the single word you pronounce the /t/ or do you make it a /d/? Try both ways and see how it sounds. Sometimes a /t/ can correctly be changed to a /d/.
let her—–letter
bit her—–bitter
bet her—–better
eight he—–eighty
Want to know more about articulation? Ck out my book, BROADCAST VOICE HANDBOOK, which actually has a whole chapter on artic! And for more Voice Tips, “Like” my facebook page in the blue square at the top of the page, and you’ll get two tips a week on FB!
