Unit 4.5 d / t

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Presentation
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Quiz
#1. The sound d is common at the end of a syllable because of ________. Choose up to three INCORRECT answers:
#2. In a CV connection, d moves forward as ________, while in a CC connection it changes to ________.
#3. When d meets t as it moves forward in a CC connection, we ________ the d, e.g., ‘good to’ becomes ‘goo to’.
#4. Which phrase is correct in spoken English?
#5. In which sound connection does the voiced consonant sound d move forward and change to the unvoiced t?
Results
Discussion
Practice
Further Study
Note

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Audio [05:02]

Quiz

#1. The sound d is common at the end of a syllable because of ________. Choose up to three INCORRECT answers:

Select all that apply:

#2. In a CV connection, d moves forward as ________, while in a CC connection it changes to ________.

#3. When d meets t as it moves forward in a CC connection, we ________ the d, e.g., ‘good to’ becomes ‘goo to’.

#4. Which phrase is correct in spoken English?

#5. In which sound connection does the voiced consonant sound d move forward and change to the unvoiced t?

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Discussion

  1. Did you know that the consonant sounds  d  and  t  are the most difficult sounds for native speakers of English to pronounce in fast speech? That is why we always delete  t  in CC connections and often delete  d  too.
  2. Which sounds do you find difficult to pronounce in English? Which sounds are the most difficult for native speakers in your L1?

Practice

  1. Practice saying the phrases on slide 7 out loud.
  2. Practice the phrases on slide 9 out loud. Note that ‘and’ becomes simply a schwa sound followed by  n. Write and practice saying out loud five more phrases where ‘and’ is similarly reduced.
  3. Find a short real text and count how many times the  t  sound is present at the end of words. Count the words in the text and work out the percentage of words with  t  at the end. (For example, in the previous sentence that number is 4 times out of 17 words, giving us a percentage of 24% – almost a quarter. 3 out of 4 will be deleted due to CC connections, while the phrasal verb ‘work out’ is, typically, a CV connection.)
  4. Write short phrases with function and content words ending with t – for example, the words on slide 10 (or the handout below). Practice saying them out loud. See how long the phrases can get with CC connections and  t  at the end of each syllable. Add glottal stops when necessary. For example, ‘that quiet fat cat just sat…’ Practice saying them out loud – deleting  t  at the end of each syllable.
  5. Practice the phrases on slide 11. Differentiate between CV connections –  d  remains – and CC connections –  d  changes to  t.

Further Study

Note

  1. Slide 7: ‘phoned my’ becomes ‘phone tmy’. In Lesson 6 – Deleting Sounds we discover that  t  is usually deleted in a blend (‘-nd’), rendering this phrase as: ‘phone my’. It is possible to say both ‘phone tmy’ and ‘phone my’, but the latter may be more common in fast speech.