T Glottalization

Guest editors: Barbara Gili Fivela, Cinzia Avesani, Michelina Savino

As others have said, t-glottalization is common in the U.S. Before syllabic N. Baby boomer, and I use a glottal stop in the first T of important, and in the T in Clinton. May 08, 2018 (T. Rugg, 'Comprehensive Articulatory Phonetics: A Tool for Mastering the World's Languages', 2nd ed., 2011) Glottalization ' Glottalization is a general term for any articulation involving a simultaneous constriction, especially a glottal stop. T-glottalization is a phonological process in many varieties of English that realizes /t/ as a glottal stop in certain positions. In this study, a perceptual experiment is used to explain why t-glottalization targets /t/ to the exclusion of other English stops, and why it targets the phonological positions that it does.

Call for papers

In speech communication, the crucial role of phonological cues is widely recognized, both at the segmental and at the suprasegmental level, in the coding/decoding of meaning. Nevertheless, the complex relation between acoustic and kinetic/visual information is far from understood, even though it is skillfully used by speakers to convey the intended linguistic message, and by listeners to understand it. In particular, it is quite an open issue how speech variation is categorized (e.g., in relation to specific segmental or prosodic units), and how it is identified as related to other linguistic (e.g., geolinguistic background, educational level, etc.) and non-linguistic (e.g., speech pathology, etc.) factors. In this respect, investigating these aspects cross-linguistically would also shed light on these different phenomena, and therefore contribute to clarifying the issue.

According to this view, this special collection aims to collect papers that can deepen our understanding of how phonological categories are identified, represented, implemented, and perceived out of the continuous speech signal. The goal is to offer a manifold view of the issue as discussed across different languages and along different perspectives, such as multimodal versus unimodal analysis, acoustic and articulatory investigations, and behavioral and neurophysiological data.

This special collection is inspired by fruitful discussions at the third Phonetics and Phonology in Europe Conference (PaPE 2019), held in Lecce, Italy, in June 2019. Conference participants, as well as others carrying out research on topics related to phonological category identification, representation, and implementation, both at the segmental and at the suprasegmental level, are warmly invited to submit a contribution to this Special Collection.

Example of research topics suitable for this special issue include, but are not limited to:

• Phonological category formation and implementation in L2
• Implementation of phonological categories in pathological speech
• Phonological categories in sign language
• Integration of information in multimodal communication and phonological category implementation

Contributors are asked to submit a one-page abstract (plus one page for figures and references) to the guest editors at pape2019@unisalento.it. Abstracts will be evaluated on topic relevance for the special issue, and on overall quality. Contributors of selected abstracts will be invited to submit a full paper that will undergo the standard peer review process.

Contributions that do not fulfill the topic relevance criterium for this special issue can, of course, still be submitted to Laboratory Phonology as regular submissions.

Timeline

- abstract due by the 14th of February 2020

- notification to authors by mid/end March 2020

- full paper due by September 2020

T-glottalization: the misperception of the letter /t/or T-glottaling, is when the sound of the consonant /t/ changes into a glottal stop.A glottal stop is literally the spot to take a break when you are supposed to produce a sound, in this case, the ‘t’ sound. It just stops in your throat. It’s like when you are about to say something and someone cuts you off. This pronunciation of the /t/ occurs in many varieties of English. Take an example of writ’t’en, Bri’t’ain, or impor’t’ant. Before pronouncing the /t/, there is a sudden pause and then you go for /ː(ə)n/ː(ə)nt/.

To find out more about what is a glottal /t/ sound and how it is used in English, check out this informational video on glottal /t/ sound in American English. Using this video, practice your American pronunciation and speak like a native!

The glottal stop or T-glottalization

The glottal stop can actually replace a consonant so, for example, the letter /t/. Therefore we call it “T-glottalization”: the misperception of the /t/. Check out the pronunciation of ‘button, cotton or kitten’ and other words in the video above.

Certain studies such as the one of Jeremy Obrien from UCSC Linguistics Research Center showed that the place of articulation of the letter /t/ could be confused with one of the glottal stops. The letter /t/ is part of the stop consonants which are /t/, /p/, /k/ but the /t/ is the only consonant that can get dropped for a glottal stop. It rarely happens with the /p/ and the /k/.

In general, the glottal stop occurs especially on the /t/ sound in the middle and at the end of words. For example, before /n/ within the word, as in beaten /’bi?n/, button /ˈbʌ?n/ or not /nɒ?/.
The misperception of the sound /t/ could be one of the causes of t-glottalization. For example, listeners mishear [t] as [?], this misperception affects the way people assimilate and produce the sound.
Another possibility is that speakers try to do less effort for the articulation whenever they can and when it is possible.

The Use of Glottal Stop in British English Language

The glottal stop is also used in the United Kingdom, so in British English. To hear more about that, check this very informative video about the use of a glottal stop in British English. The use of T-glottaling can change depending on a geographical region or social factors. Most of the time people associate it with the speakers from London but also other areas in England, for example, Liverpool or farther north in Scotland’s Glasgow or Edinburgh. You can hear the T-glottaling in English native speakers’ chats of all ages: children, adults and elderly people.

Dropping T's In Words

T-glottalization in English

Nowadays, people use the t-glottaling process without even noticing it. In British English, people tend to glottalize in a more informal and relaxed setting. So glottalization has somehow become the norm in the English language. At the end of the day, it is up to you to decide if you wish to pronounce the /t/ sound or not.

T-glottalization

The perception of English has changed a lot through time. This article on LingoStar about the perception of German is also a great example of the perception of another language.

T Glottalization

English Translations Vancouver

Glottal Stop T

Here at LingoStar Vancouver, we dedicate our time to research information on various languages and to complete English language projects on time and with care. Feel free to reach out to us with any English written translation requests. We assure you we will not miss any details when working on your English translations.