Stress and Flap T

Hello! I hope you enjoyed your long weekend.

Monday we talked about true t and flap t. The symbol for "true t" is /t/. The symbol for "flap t" is /D/. We practiced saying two columns of words to listen for a difference in how "t" is pronounced. In the first column we had words like: talk, toy, telephone, attack, photography, retire. In the second column we had words like: butter, pretty, litre, bitter, batter, letter.

We decided that the "t" in the words in the first column really sounds like a T. We held paper in front of our mouths and saw the paper move. There is a lot of air coming out with this T.

We decided that the "t" sound in the words in the second column sounds like a quick D. This is called "flap T" or "tap T." We make the sound by quickly tapping the tooth ridge with the tip of the tongue.

Next we tried to discover the rule for when T is /t/ and when it is /D/. Bashar said that it is true /t/ at the beginning of words. That's right. It is also true /t/ at the beginning of a stressed syllable.

What about a rule for the second column? When does T become flap /D/? We decided this happens when the T sound is between two vowel sounds AND when the previous syllable is more stressed. Bashar said he noticed that the following syllable often had schwa in it. That's a good observation.

We talked about the fact that a Level One teacher might pronounce "daughter" with a true /t/. But that is just because she is trying to pronounce things very carefully for beginners. We also sometimes speak carefully like that when speaking to children. But when adult Canadians talk to each other, we pronounce "daughter" with the flap /D/.

Next we practiced stress in numbers, contrasting the zero numbers (20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90) with the teens (13, 14, 15, 16, etc.) The teen numbers have a true /t/. The the zero numbers have a /d/ or flap /D/. Seventy has a /d/ sound; eighty has a flap /D/ sound.

We practiced a little dialogue about the VIA Rail schedule for trains that run between Windsor and Toronto.

Finally, we did an information gap activity. I gave you each a train schedule, but each of you had different pieces of information missing. You had to go around to your classmates to find the missing times on your timetable. This was a good chance to practice saying "9:15" or "9:50" correctly.