[THE APPRENTICE]

Dear teachers and members:


Alveolar stop and alveolar nasal plus a stop become voiced taps or voiced flaps when they occur between two vowels (intervocalic) of which the second is unstressed. I would like to know is this occurs in the folowing consonant clusters I will expose.

I° - In most of the time in american English (AmE) when the consonant cluster NT, (an alveolar nasal followed by an alveolar stop) is intervocalic and the second vowel is unstressed, the voiceless alveolar stop T is lost and a nasal stop occurs, thus the voiced nasal alveolar N becomes the only one being pronounced, sounding as follows:

a) Identify / aɪˈdɛnɪˌfaɪ /, accountable / əˈkaʊnəbəl/, internet, / ˈɪnərnɛt /, twenty / ˈtwɛnɪ /


b) Listen to me / ˈlɪsən ə mi /; I don't want a live like that / aɪ dəʊnt wɒn ə laɪv laɪk ðæt/; I want to go / aɪ wɒn ə ɡəʊ /; Take it for granted / teɪk ɪt fər ˈɡrænɪd /



OBSERVANCE:

1) This words or sentences containing this cluster may be pronounced either as NT or as N in AmE.

2) Does this process occur because these consonants share the same place of articulation (the alveolar ridge); because one is voiced and the other is voiceless or for what another reason?

3) I Found that this does not happen when the consonant cluster NT is followed by the gerund form ING; why does not happen in this case?

Hunting / hʌntɪŋ /, haunting / hɔntɪŋ /, renting / rɛntɪŋ/, punting / pʌntɪŋ /

4) I found this also happen in some verbs when they are in the past or past participle tenses; is this because of some vowel sounds as / ʌ, ɔ / or another reason?

Hunted / hʌnɪd/, haunted / ˈhɔnɪd/, punted / pʌnɪd/

5) Can this process also occur in the case of the voiced consonant cluster ND?; soundind as:

a) Founded / faʊnɪd /, blinded / blaɪnɪd /, intended / ɪntɛnɪd / Individual / ɪnɪˈvɪdjʊəl /, windy / ˈwɪnɪ /,
kind of / kaɪn əv /,hand and glove / hæn ən ɡlʌv /.

b) I send a message to my mother every morning ; / aɪ sɛn ə ˈmɛsɪdʒ tə maɪ ˈmʌðər ˈɛvrɪ ˈmɔnɪŋ/
the police tried to apprehend a thief / ðə pəˈlis traɪd tə æprɪˈhɛn ə θif/

Your assitance and help will be deeply appreciated in this matter.

Sincerely,


The Apprentice