Dear all,

I don't know why all the /t/ sounds in the bold words are changed into /d/. This is not American English. It is British English.

1. They were put out of business due to the rise in oil prices.
2. Direct mailing can be a pretty effective method of advertising.
3. A lot of money is devoted to keeping the company name in the public eye.

Please let me know why this occurs in British English.

Many thanks.

Hi Tony,

I found the following in my accent reduction textbook:

"when a 't' is between two vowels, it is generally pronounced like a fast /d/ sound. This sound is also sometimes called a 'tapped t' because you quickly tap the tip of the tongue on the gum ridge when pronuncing it.

Examples are:
'better' becomes 'bedder'
'little' becomes 'liddle'
'party' becomes 'pardy'
'forty' becomes 'fordy'

Note: A 't' does not change to a 'fast /d/' sound if it's within a stressed syllable. We don't say 'adack', we say 'attack'."

Hope this helps a little!

Hey, guys, these are examples of North American English, NOT British English. That change goes from [t] to what we call a flapped [d], and it's not commonly heard in BrE.

Thank you alexwhlh and Richard,

I know this occurs in AE. But the speakers do not sound American at all. All is from the book Business Listening and Speaking

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Tony C,