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Glottal stops for t's are not new. A lot of t's in American English are glottalized. For example 1. button 2. gotten 3. mountain 4. eaten 5. wait In all o

Glottal stops for t's are not new. A lot of t's in American English are glottalized. For example 1. button 2. gotten 3. mountain 4. eaten 5. wait In all of these examples the t is dropped entirely in all but the most formal speech. Unless you mean something different this is not a new phenomenon and is actually a characteristic marker of American English. In fact everyone I know, even people 30-40 years older than me, drop their t's everywhere. It actually feels weird to me to pronounce them in the above example and it sounds like I am scolding someone. I don't really know the linguistic history of it and my family has only been here a few generations, but everyone back to my grandparents spoke this way. Perhaps it wasn't as common before the 30's though. As for news and what-not I'm so used to it I didn't even notice any change in inflection. NPR tends to be very hip these days (unfortunately) and so I am not surprised they are speaking more casually than a normal newcaster.

downsplat 4y ago
Glottalized is not the same sound as dropped or flapped. The American English dropped t's in these examples are either completely dropped, or pronounced as a (weak) flap. If not completely dropped, the t in "button" would usually be a flap, almost the same sound as the r in Spanish "cara". The final t in "wait" would most likely be an unreleased stop, if pronounced at all. Both regular and flapped t are articulated towards the front of the mouth, whereas glottalization happens the very back. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flapping https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flapping and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-glottalization https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-glottalization
- suzumer 4y ago
  While the parent is incorrect about wait, he/she is correct about T-glottallization in the word button. The glottalization of the T in button is even listed in the wikipedia article you linked.
  - PaulDavisThe1st 4y ago
    Yes, but even though T-glottalization in button is happening in the US now, that was not true historically. It is changing from budd'n to 'buh-un'
  - Test0129 4y ago
    It seems I messed up the definition of glottalized but unless I am deliberate I also barely pronounce the t in wait.
princeb 4y ago
in typical north american english, in #1 #2 and #4 the t's are pronounced /d/ and the final syllable shortened (budd'n, godd'n, ead'n) and in #3 they are omitted but not glottalized (moun'n). in #5, the final t is simply not aspirated, but rarely glottalized.

downsplat 4y ago

Glottalized is not the same sound as dropped or flapped. The American English dropped t's in these examples are either completely dropped, or pronounced as a (weak) flap. If not completely dropped, the t in "button" would usually be a flap, almost the same sound as the r in Spanish "cara". The final t in "wait" would most likely be an unreleased stop, if pronounced at all. Both regular and flapped t are articulated towards the front of the mouth, whereas glottalization happens the very back. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flapping https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flapping and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-glottalization https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-glottalization

suzumer 4y ago
While the parent is incorrect about wait, he/she is correct about T-glottallization in the word button. The glottalization of the T in button is even listed in the wikipedia article you linked.
- PaulDavisThe1st 4y ago
  Yes, but even though T-glottalization in button is happening in the US now, that was not true historically. It is changing from budd'n to 'buh-un'
- Test0129 4y ago
  It seems I messed up the definition of glottalized but unless I am deliberate I also barely pronounce the t in wait.

princeb 4y ago

in typical north american english, in #1 #2 and #4 the t's are pronounced /d/ and the final syllable shortened (budd'n, godd'n, ead'n) and in #3 they are omitted but not glottalized (moun'n). in #5, the final t is simply not aspirated, but rarely glottalized.