Consonant Stop: t sound /t/

Listen to the t sound

How to pronounce the t sound

The t sound is unvoiced (the vocal cords do not vibrate while producing it), and is the counterpart to the voiced d sound.

To create the t sound, air is briefly prevented from leaving the vocal tract when the tip of the tongue presses against the tooth ridge while the sides of the tongue press against the upper side teeth. The sound is aspirated when the air is released. The aspiration for a t sound is greater than the aspiration for a d sound, especially when it is the first sound of a word or the first sound of a stressed syllable.

Advanced ESL/ELL pronunciation students should be aware of t sound allophones, of which there are many. The t sound is usually only pronounced as described above in the following circumstances:

• it is the first sound of a word
• it is the first sound of a stressed syllable
• it is preceded by a consonant sound (other than an r sound or r-controlled vowel)

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Common t sound spellings

spelling	example		other pronunciations for spelling
t/tt	take attach eat		none

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The t sound in suffixes

spelling	example		other pronunciations for spelling
-ate (noun/adjective)[1]	accurate passionate certificate		none
-ate (verb)[1]	celebrate demonstrate accumulate		none
-ed[2]	jumped wished liked		d sound short i+d sound

[1]: -ate suffix
When a word containing the -ate suffix is being used as a noun or adjective, a short i is the more common suffix pronunciation; when the word is being used as a verb, a long a suffix pronunciation is more common.

[2]: -ed ending
The pronunciation of the -ed ending depends on the final sound before the suffix.

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Non-phonetic t sound words

none

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Pronuncian Lessons

  

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