This is the "Sounds American" channel.

In this video, we're going to talk about the flap 'T' sound,

as in the word "water."

You can also hear this sound in words like

"city"-"butter" - "title" or "kitty."

Now listen to how these words sound with a "regular" 'T':

"city" - "butter" - "title" - "kitty."

Can you hear a difference?

In American English these words are pronounced with the flap 'T'.

There's nothing wrong with using a "regular" 'T',

it just sounds a little less American and more British.

And there's nothing wrong with British English.

So, if you have more important things to work on for your pronunciation,

you may skip the rest of this video.

If you'd like to fine-tune your American accent, keep watching.

So, what exactly is the flap 'T' sound?

If you watched the Stop Sounds Overview video,

you may remember that there are six stop consonants in American English.

And yet, here's one more stop sound.

No, it's not a mistake.

The flap 'T' is somewhere between the /t/ and the /d/ sounds.

It's basically the /t/ sound,

which is pronounced in a different way in certain positions in a word.

The thing is,

when the /t/ occurs between voiced sounds,

it sounds more like a quick /d/: "water."

When does it happen?

When the /t/ is between two vowels,

as vowel sounds are always voiced:

Or between a vowel and a voiced consonant sound:

Why does it happen?

Because it's easier to continue voicing rather than switching to a voiceless /t/ sound.

For example,

Speaking about voicing,

it's time to learn how to make the flap 'T'

and find out whether it's similar or different from the /t/ and the /d/ sounds.

Just like for the /t/ or the /d/ sounds,

slightly open your mouth and leave your lips in a neutral position.

Now, you have to stop the air in your mouth.

Again,

do it the same way as for the /t/ or the /d/:

Place the tip of your tongue on the alveolar ridge behind your upper front teeth.

Next, release the air and add your voice.

This is where the flap 'T' may sound similar to the /d/ sound,

but the flap 'T' is quicker.

The flap 'T' is also called a "tap" 'T'

because it describes how your tongue quickly taps your alveolar ridge,

so focus on making a brief voiced sound, much like a fast /d/.

Now, let's try saying it:

Time to do some practice exercises.

As usual, you'll see a word on the screen and hear its pronunciation.

Like this:

You'll have a few seconds to pronounce the word.

♪

Don't skip this part,

as the time more you practice,

the better your pronunciation will become.

Let's begin!

You're done!

Congratulations!

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