Learn American English! All About the Flap /ɾ/ (aka Flap T)

What's the easiest way to sound more like a native speaker of American English? Use the flap! The flap occurs everywhere in American English, and if you want to sound natural to a native speaker, you must learn how to pronounce it and when to use it! Learn all about the flap in this video, both within words and when linking between words!
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[@mzoru]

A beautiful teacher with beautiful english

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Thank you - I'm glad you like my videos! :)

[@accountforaccenttraining6786]

Very illuminating! It's insane how much your perception of English words changes once you learn what sounds to look for! Thank you so much

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Yes - this is so true! A huge part of pronunciation training is improving your awareness of the sounds of a language. Once your awareness improves and you can hear the different sounds, then your production should also improve! :)

[@english4freedom]

Thank you! A very clear explanation!

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Thanks, Alex! I'm glad the video was helpful! :)

[@austinswift9386]

Wow, I learned something I never knew before! Thank you 🙏

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Hi Aaron! Thanks for your comment - I'm glad my video was helpful! :)

[@user-tn1os6ik5l]

Can I understand it like this: the middle (between vowel sounds) t, d, tt, dd have all the same sound which is called "flap t or flap d" (flap t and flap d are the same thing). this sound is neither a hard d nor a hard t, it is its own unique sound that exists in between t and d? thank you.

[@cazandrajoymatic8335]

Thank you so much for this very informative video

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Hi Cazandra - Glad you liked the video! Thanks for the comment :)

[@xandrlsch]

Have just found this channel with great lessons taught by a beautiful teacher. Thank you, Julie!

[@accountforaccenttraining6786]

Hands-down the best accent channel on KZbin!

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Thanks for your comment! I'm so glad you like the videos! :)

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

@@accountforaccenttraining6786 Wow - thank you! I'm glad my videos are helpful!! :)

[@nirvonna]

Very clarifying.

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Hi Jovanna - Thank you for your comment! I'm glad my video helped to clarify this pronunciation topic :)

[@neynazareno7603]

Pronuncia muy bien las palabras en español, ¡Felicitaciones!.

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Hola Ney - ¡Muchas gracias!

[@ramzy-6566]

Great as always. thank you .

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Thank you! I'm glad you liked the video :)

[@ramzy-6566]

@@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent practice again and again and again

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

@@ramzy-6566 :-) Nice work!

[@Andrewsina1997.]

That was awesome Thank you ❤❤

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Hi Ali - You're very welcome! I'm glad you liked the video! :)

[@AsmaaSaied-ys5cp]

Good

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Thank you for your comment! I'm so glad you liked my video and found it helpful! :)

[@guitardude3394]

I have a question. Sometimes the t sound can still be flapped when the t merges with with d from the previous syllable, right? For example in 'I need to go' the t can be flapped.

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Thanks for this question :) Yes, in this context, the T in "to" can merge with the D in "need" due to the way those words can be linked together. You have the stop D consonant in "need" linking with the stop T consonant in "to", and what can occur is something called coarticulation (or assimilation), in which one sound will influence the way an adjacent sound is pronounced. In this case, the T consonant might assimilate with, or become more like, the D consonant in that it may become voiced/flapped. And when I pronounce it this way, I always reduce "to'" to "tuh" (or "duh"). Alternatively, you could also reduce the phrase "need to" to "needduh" as well, and this definitely uses a flap! I hope this helps! :)

[@user-tl7ni6sy4b]

Hi, what kind of “t” does these two words “instinct / distinct” themselves belong to? ture t? stop t? drop t? 🤔If these two words are connected with a word that begins with a vowel , what kind of “t” should be pronounced at this time?

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Hi! This is a great question....but the answer is too complicated to explain in a written comment. It would be best if you joined my next live class at Julie's Conversation Club (courses.sandiegovoiceandaccent.com/courses/julies-conversation-club). I could answer your question during the class and pronounce the linking for you! I hope to see you there :)

[@accountforaccenttraining6786]

Timestamps for my personal use: 5:17 5:30 5:44 6:12 6:19 4:46

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

No problem! :)

[@IdaliaBravo-gv1qb]

❤

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Thanks, Idalia! I appreciate your comment! :)

[@TheTarajiste]

Hi, honestly the flap (t) sound that reached my hearing in the last exercise is dominated by the sound of the letter (d) not the"spanish R" sound.

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Hi Maher - Thanks for your comment :) The American English flap is similar to the Spanish R flap (they're represented by the same IPA symbol), but I probably pronounce the Spanish R flap with an American accent! :)

[@kathybui1918]

Yes I think so! Because in Vietnamese Language we pronounce all initial consonants t, d, r flap, the flap r with the tip of the tongue going vibrate while the t and d are pronounced like - ting and ding in acting and hiding.

[@indispensableCreep]

4:47 i’m having huge trouble pronouncing this💀😭

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Hi - Thanks for your comment! Yes, this is a difficult pronunciation for sure! I hope it gets easier the more you practice :)

[@evermorevictorious2742]

👍🏻👏🏻🙏🏻👌🏻🍾🥂🍻

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Hi Evermore - Thank you! I'm glad you liked the video! :)

[@youssefsbai7800]

This is crazy hhhh

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Hi Youssef - Thanks for your comment! I hope the video was crazy...in a good way! :)