HIGH 5 PRONUNCIATION - FLAP T

FLAP T

HIGH 5 PRONUNCIATION

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FLAP T

In American English, the /t/ phoneme can be pronounced in several ways, depending on its position within a word or phrase. IT IS NOT USED IN BRITISH ENGLISH.

FLAP T

AMERICAN

To produce this sound you should pronounce an R sound as in the Spanish word TORO, but try to make the sound much softer. It is important to keep in mind that the tip of the tongue should hit the top of the teeth (the alveolus) very quickly.

BRITISH

When is the flap t not used?

• Before a consonant: central, Atkins, pit bull
• Before a stressed vowel inside a word: a táble, photógraphy, seventéen
• Before a stressed vowel at end of word: intó
• After a consonant other than /n/, /r/ or /l/: listing, after, helicopter
• At the beginning of a phrase: Today I’ll show them!
• At the end of a phrase: Who is it?
• Before the syllabic n: button

Are there any exceptions to the rules?

• After stressed vowel, before unstressed vowel: détail, látex, íTunes, frée Tibét
• After unstressed vowel, before unstressed vowel: dógmatism, áutism, pólitics, sólitude, mílitary, nícotine, hábitat, hád a Toyóta, Mórley Tobácco
• After /r/, before unstressed vowel: súrtax, áirtight, róugher terráin, néwer technólogy
• After /n/, before unstressed vowel: cóntact, sýntax, Ántony, Árgentine, Mácintosh, béen terrífic
• After /l/, before unstressed vowel (even in careless speech): difficulty, alter, guilty, shelter
• There are also words and phrases where flap t is used in spite of the above rules. One example is whatéver, in which a flap t is heard before a stressed vowel which is not at the start of a word.

Practice

Practice

1. A little bit of butter
2. Quality of life is greatly determined by the attitude you have.
3. The property out at the beach is the better option.
4. What is the best type of exercise activity?
5. It takes a bit of practice to make the perfect peanut butter cookie.
6. The crash wasn’t fatal, but the driver had to go to the hospital.
7. Expert advice online is harder to find than you think.
8. Roberta was eager to help her brother get in the car.
9. We make judgments about a speaker’s competence in as little as 30 seconds.

Practice

Find the Flap T

My Trip to the City Last Saturday, I visited my favorite city with my little brother. We took a bottle of water and some snacks for the trip. The weather was pretty warm, and we had a better time than we expected. Later, we stopped at a hotel near the river. The waiter at the restaurant was very polite and brought us a plate of buttered toast. After dinner, we wrote a letter to our parents to tell them about our adventure. The next morning, we met a tour guide who showed us around. He told us about the history of the city, and we took a little boat to see the old bridges. It was a great experience, and we can't wait to visit again!

Find the Flap T

My Trip to the City Last Saturday, I visited my favorite city with my little brother. We took a bottle of water and some snacks for the trip. The weather was pretty warm, and we had a better time than we expected. Later, we stopped at a hotel near the river. The waiter at the restaurant was very polite and brought us a plate of buttered toast. After dinner, we wrote a letter to our parents to tell them about our adventure. The next morning, we met a tour guide who showed us around. He told us about the history of the city, and we took a little boat to see the old bridges. It was a great experience, and we can't wait to visit again!

More practice

You've done a wonderful job!

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