Learn the American Accent! Nasal Plosion and the Glottal Stop /ʔ/

[@ポップ英会話チャンネル]

You are genius. I have been having trouble with these sounds and now I am cleared by your explanation. I really appreciate it for your video.

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Thanks so much! I'm so happy I could help you! :)

[@aislam2020]

Thank you Julie for your awesome video.

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Hi Ariful - Thank you for your comment! I'm glad you liked my video! :)

[@elibertocubillos3763]

Gracias, gracias

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

¡De nada, Eliberto!

[@ramzy-6566]

Thank you for amazing video. 5:19 - you said ( it was sudden ) are you pronounced the word ( it ) like this /ɪʔ/ - and the word ( was ) like /wəz/ not /wʌz/ in this sentence. - and for sudden word after was, is your tongue for s letter was behind the upper teeth or moved from upper for z sound to the lower teeth for s sound.Thank you.

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Hi! Thanks for all of your questions :) 1) Yes - exactly! I used a glottal stop T in the word "it" when I linked "it" and "was" together: /ɪʔ/. 2) Yes - exactly! :) I reduced the word "was", and I used a quick schwa vowel instead of the full /ʌ/ vowel: /wəz/ 3) When sounds occur next to each other, sometimes the properties of one sound will change so that it is more similar to the other sound. This is called coarticulation and/or assimilation. So in this context, "was sudden", I actually reduced the voicing of the final /z/ in "was" so that it sounded closer to the initial /s/ in "sudden" (this helps your speech to come out faster and smoother). Then my tongue tip stayed in the same spot for the final sound in "was" and the initial sound in "sudden". I don't think there was any movement of the tongue tip there. I hope this was helpful! :)

[@ramzy-6566]

@@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent for number 3 you said ( I actually reduced the voicing of the final /z/ in "was" ) /wəz̥/ z̥ the ring under z letter ( devoicing of [z] ) or z̥₎ final devoicing . do you mean like this /wəz̥/ [ˈsʌdn̩] = /wəs//ˈsʌdn̩/ 2 you said ( my tongue tip stayed in the same spot for the final sound in "was" and the initial sound in "sudden". I don't think there was any movement of the tongue tip there.) - is that mean you tongue pointed up behind alveolar ridge for both z and s sound because the letter s followed the letter z. am i right ?

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

@@ramzy-6566 Thanks for asking for clarification :) #3: I think the IPA symbol that makes the most sense is this one: z̥₎ final devoicing. There is a little bit of voicing at the beginning of the final /z/ of "was", but since it connects to a voiceless /s/ in "sudden", the final portion of the /z/ voicing is gone so that it can blend in with the voiceless /s/ of "sudden". #2: Yes! This is what my tongue tip did when I said "was sudden". I hope this helps! :)

[@LouisSamuels664]

that's really clear!

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

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

[@ramzy-6566]

Hello, 7:02 you said ( that was a huge burden ) are you pronounced the letter a between was and huge as schwa /ə/ ( that was ə huge burden ) Thank you.

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Hi! Yes, that is exactly right! The word "a" /eɪ/ is often unstressed in sentences; therefore, it is often reduced to just a quick schwa /ə/. I hope this helps! :)

[@ramzy-6566]

@@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent yes, very helpful, because when i was in the school, long time ago. every letter (a) before word like /eɪ/ always stressed. Thank you.

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

@@ramzy-6566 Oh that's interesting! I think the word "a" is reduced much more often than it is stressed, so I probably pronounce it like the schwa "uh" much more than the stressed /eɪ/ (depending on the sentence).

[@ramzy-6566]

@@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent you're right (depending on the sentence) but the schools here or some of them don't care about pronunciation, writing only, and a lot of grammar.

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

@@ramzy-6566 Very true! Most of my accent clients are highly skilled at writing and grammar, but they need a little help with pronunciation :)

[@edflam7555]

You're videos always provide me with groundbreaking info! I wonder if in hittin' and hidden the tip of the tongue pressess against the back of the upper teeth and stays pressed until the end of the sound. would the word hitten be both glottal and nasal? Thanks for the great video!

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Hi Ed! Thanks for your comment :) When I say "hittin'" and "hidden", I feel my tongue tip pressing farther up, and it touches more of the alveolar ridge instead of the back of my teeth. It may touch the gum line and the very top of the back of my upper teeth, but I definitely feel like my tongue tip is also touching part of the alveolar ridge. And yes, the word "hittin'" has both a glottal (it has a glottal/stop T) and a nasal (then it has a nasal /n/ consonant). I hope this helped! Let me know if you have additional questions :)

[@anaislee1082]

Thank you for the great video! Can we use an unreleased t instead of a glottal stop in words like eaten? If so, what does it sound like?

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Hi Anaïs - Thanks for your comment! If I use an unreleased T in "eaten," it sounds the same as the glottal stop because I combine an unreleased T with a glottal stop :) I hope that helps!

[@rafaelassad8774]

Sup Ms. In the word "garden" that have an R before the d+vowel+n can I produce the nasal ploison as well?? Tks in a advance

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Hi Rafael - Yes, you can pronounce "garden" with nasal plosion! If the "d + vowel + n" combination is in an unstressed syllable, usually nasal plosion can happen. It can also happen in a word like "ordinary", and that has an "r + d + vowel + n" combination, like "garden" does. I hope this helps! :)

[@moneymagnet888]

but to be honest, it sounds no actual difference when you communicate in daily life, right?

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Hi Yiyuan - Thanks for your question :) The words "eden" and "eaten" actually do sound different when I communicate in my daily life, and nasal plosion and the glottal stop are two separate things. They don't sound the same to a native speaker of American English :) Thanks for your comment!

[@Rabmac1UK]

Just to get your notice

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Thanks for the comment! :)

[@PyckledNyk]

Why do you think American English has these traits? I can only figure influence from French immigrants and other immigrants I can’t pinpoint.

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Hi Solachinx - Thanks for your comment! To be honest, I'm not entirely sure where nasal plosion came from :) I'd bet that your guess is correct - it probably came from the influence of some other language, and French is a good guess because it has nasal vowels.

[@English_Tutorials_Kengo.H]

この方は解説で kitten を /kiʔ.n/ と発音すると述べていますが、ご本人が実際にやっているのは、[ kitⁿʔn ] というnasally release /t/ の発音です。nasally release /t/ では glottal stopも常に発生しますが、/t/を完全脱落させた /kiʔ.n/ のような発音はイギリス北部方言に見られるものです。 アニメアナ雪（Frozen）の挿入歌 Let it go の出だしで「The snow glows white on the mountain tonight」という歌詞があり、その mountain は[ maʊntⁿʔn ] と発音されています。ここでも nasally release /t/ が用いられています。米式発音で /t/ が声門閉鎖音(ʔ)に「置き換え」られるわけではありません。

[@SanDiegoVoiceandAccent]

Hi kenkenken - Thanks for your perspective on this issue. It's always good to learn other people's opinions about pronunciation! :)