[Ads-l] /d/ for flapped /t/

[Jonathan Lighter]

> I think I even lower the tone of the "a" when I say "ladder" as compared
to "latter".

I have no doubt that I do.

I also seem to hear vowel modification in the other exx.

JL

On Sat, Nov 15, 2014 at 3:48 PM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> Subject:      Re: /d/ for flapped /t/
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>
> Answering Wilson also.
>
> I can hear a difference when I speak knowing that there might be a
> difference.  And it sounds (I think!) somewhat like what Jon is
> describing.  I think I even lower the tone of the "a" when I say
> "ladder" as compared to "latter".  But am I biasing myself to prove a
> preconceived hypothesis?
>
> Probably my test would only tell me what I can *hear* if I listened
> to someone else speak a (potential minimal) pair -- such as
> latter/ladder, butter/budder, better/bedder.  But then I would have
> to listen to someone who makes the distinction in speaking, wouldn't I?
>
> Joel
>
> At 11/15/2014 08:09 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
> >I believe I can hear the difference although it is subtle.
> >
> >/d/ sounds (and feels) to me minutely longer and more emphatic. (A
> >phonologist could say that better.)
> >
> >Many of us will remember entire classrooms of students of whom only two or
> >three could hear the difference between /a/ and /C/ (e.g., "pa" and "paw,"
> >"hottie" and "haughty").  Practice helped, but it didn't help everybody.
>
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