The Withgott effect is a term in the study of Phonology relating to the pronunciation of stops in American English. Speakers of American English pronounce the sound [t] in characteristic but complex ways. Many have noted that the words “latter” and “ladder” are nearly homophonous, and such examples once led linguists to characterize t-flapping, where [t] sounds like [d], as occurring between two vowels where the first vowel is stressed (accented).

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  • The Withgott effect is a term in the study of Phonology relating to the pronunciation of stops in American English. Speakers of American English pronounce the sound [t] in characteristic but complex ways. Many have noted that the words “latter” and “ladder” are nearly homophonous, and such examples once led linguists to characterize t-flapping, where [t] sounds like [d], as occurring between two vowels where the first vowel is stressed (accented). This would correctly rule out a flapped-t in, for instance, “Mathilda” but not “Matty. ” In a dissertation in 1982, M.M. Withgott demonstrated that speakers’ behavior is a good deal subtler in what has come to be known as the Withgott effect. Notably, words seem to be chunked into pronunciation units she referred to as a foot, similar to a metrical unit in poetry. Such chunking was said to block flapping in the word ‘Mediterranean’ ([, cf. in cápitalìstic can be flapped as easily as in post-stress cátty, in contrast to the medial in mílitarìstic. Long, seemingly monomorphemic words also are chunked in English for purposes of pronunciation. In such words ’s---as well as the other unvoiced stops---are pronounced like initial segments whenever they receive secondary stress or are at the beginning of a foot: Navra tilóva Abra cadábra Ala kazám Rázz matàzz But: Fliberti gibety Humu humu nuku nuku apu a‘a
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  • The Withgott effect is a term in the study of Phonology relating to the pronunciation of stops in American English. Speakers of American English pronounce the sound [t] in characteristic but complex ways. Many have noted that the words “latter” and “ladder” are nearly homophonous, and such examples once led linguists to characterize t-flapping, where [t] sounds like [d], as occurring between two vowels where the first vowel is stressed (accented).
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  • Withgott effect
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