Sound like a Native English Speaker: Tapping

Hello. My name is Emma, and in today's video, I am going to teach you a little bit about

North American pronunciation. I'm going to teach you about something called "tapping".

Okay.

So, before I explain what tapping is, I want you to listen to how I pronounce this word.

I'm going to pronounce it in three ways, and I want you to tell me: What's the difference

in each way I pronounce this? Okay? So the first way I'm going to pronounce it: "thiry",

"thiry". Okay? Now, the next way: "thirdy", "thirdy". And finally: "thirty", "thirty".

So what was the difference in the three pronunciations? Between "thiry", "thirdy", "thirty"?

If you said this, you are correct.

One of the major differences you'll find in different Englishes is the way we pronounce

"t". In British English, a lot of the times you actually hear the "t". I'm terrible with

British accents, but "thirty", "t", okay? So you can hear it like a "t" sound. In Englishes...

Some British Englishes, and sometimes Australian Englishes, they actually get rid of the "t",

it's like it doesn't even exist. So you might hear: "thiry". Okay? In North American English,

oftentimes, we pronounce t's like d's. So you would hear: "thirdy", okay? So this is

one of the main difference between many different Englishes, how we pronounce our t's.

So what's the rule for this? How do we know when to pronounce our t's like d's? Because

this is going to focus on the North American pronunciation. Well, I have here a bunch of

different words, all have the word... Or all have the letter "t" in them. I want you to

listen, and I want you to think about: Where is "t" pronounced like a "d"? Okay? So you're

going to listen carefully, and I want you to think about: Which words do I pronounce

"t" like a "d"? Okay?

So the first word: "party", "party". Okay? "Party". If you said this is like a "d", you

are correct. So we have one here. Next word: "tiny", "tiny", "tiny".

No "d" sound.

"Water", "water".

There is a "d" sound here. So, again, North American pronunciation. British people

would probably say something different, like "wa-er" or like "water", okay? Next one: "forty",

"forty".

Okay. Yeah, we have a "d" sound, here. "Latter", "latter", "latter". Okay,

you probably heard a "d" sound. Next one: "bottle", "bottle", "bottle".

Probably heard a "d" sound there. The next word that has a "t" in it: "tornado", "tornado". Does it

have a "d" sound? I mean where the "t" is. Of course it has this "d" sound, but: "tornado".

No, we don't pronounce it like a "d". "City", "city".

Yeah, it has a "d" sound.

"Tuna", "tuna",

no "d" sound; it sounds like a "t".

"Bitter", "bitter",

"d" sound.

"Thanks", "thanks",

doesn't even have a "t" sound, actually. It has a "th" sound, which is a little different.

And finally: "tall", "tall".

No "d" sound either.

So, what do you notice about these words? Is the "t"...? When we pronounce t's as d's

in North American English, do we pronounce t's like d's when they're at the beginning

of the word or when they're in the middle? You look here. So this one is a yes, it's

in the middle, it's in the middle, middle, middle. The beginning, no. Middle; beginning,

no; middle; no; no. So we pronounce t's like d's when they're in the middle of a word.

Okay?

But we don't do it all the time. When do we do it? When do we say t's like t's, and when

do we say t's like d's? That might get a little bit confusing, but I hope you're following.

Well, it depends on stress. So, what is stress? "Oh, I have a test tomorrow. I'm stressed."

Not that kind of stress. We're talking about stress in pronunciation. When we stress something

in pronunciation, we mean we say it louder and longer. So, for example: "party", part

of this I'm going to say loud and long, and part of it short. So listen and tell me where

the stress is: "party". The stress, if you said it's here, you are correct. "Par" is

loud "ty" is shorter. I'll... Let's go to "water" next. "Water", "water". So where is

the stress? Stress is here, okay? The first part. "Water". We say this part quieter. Here:

"forty", "forty". Where is the stress? What part's louder and longer?

If you said "for", you're correct.

We say that part louder and longer. Louder and long... Louder and longer.

Here we have the word "latter", "latter", "latter". Again, the first part is louder.

"Bottle", "bottle". In this case, the first part... Sorry. First part is louder.

"City", "city",

okay? Again, the first part is louder. And so on, you'll see the same thing, here:

"bitter" it's stressed.

So what you're going to notice is that when we have a "t" in the middle of the word, not

at the beginning, and when it is not stressed... Okay? So, this is stressed, not stressed.

So the "t" isn't stressed, the "t" isn't stressed, the "t" isn't stressed. When the "t" isn't

stressed, it becomes a "d". Okay? So, "t" equals "d" when unstressed. Okay.

So let's do some practice with this. I want you to say these words after me, and really

focus on making a "d" sound in it. Okay? So the first word: "20", "20", "30", 30",

"40", "40", "50", "50", "60", "60", "70", "70", "80", "80", "90", "90". Okay, so now I want

you to actually try maybe an Australian pronunciation. I don't have an Australian accent, but we're

going to imagine these do not have a "t", okay? We're going to take away the "t" and

"d", and say them like Australian. All right? So let's try. "20", "30", "40", "50", "60"...

Oh, that's tough. "70", "80", "90". Okay? Again, my accent for Australian... I apologize

if you live in Australia, and my accent is quite off, but you get the point. And it's

the same with some sorts of British English, you just have a missing "t". Okay? Now let's

try this where we really pronounce the "t". "20", "30", "40", "50"... Even for me it's

hard to keep the "t". "50", "60", "70", "80", "90". Okay.

So you can test it out. Depending on what kind of accent you want... If you want a North

American accent, you should... We call this tapping, where you turn this into a "d". If

you want a British accent, pronounce your t's; very important. And if you want maybe

an Australian accent or a different dialect of English,

get rid of the "t", okay? In unstressed syllables.

So, thank you for watching this video. I invite you to take our quiz on this at www.engvid.com.

There, you can learn some more about tapping, and you can practice seeing where you think

stresses in syllables, and which t's are tapped, where they sound like a "d".

So, until next time, take care, and I will see you soon.