Search from various English teachers...
Shami
american pronunciation
How do you pronounce Water?
What I hear is Warer not water
My question is why do Americans replace t with r and does it apply for other words or not?
Aug 26, 2020 9:14 AM
Answers · 3
1
The T in water is called a flapped T.
For Americans and Canadians, T is sometimes pronounced as an aspirated T [tʰ], unaspirated T [t], unreleased T [t̚], or a short, soft d-like flapped T [ɾ]. The flapped T is not a [d], although to non-native speakers, it sounds like [d].
Rachel's English provides excellent pronunciation videos on youtube. She has a phonetics background and gives accurate information.
Here is one of her flapped T videos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUupfHhOnHg
I find that she overpronounces the flapped T as a full [d]. This may be deliberate to demonstrate.
And here is more information about the several allophones of /t/.
https://www.italki.com/discussion/213450
August 27, 2020
Hi Shami, what you are probably hearing is "D" Wader, if you do a Youtube search for differences between UK English and US English you will encounter many videos explaining how the pronunciation varies between the two Countries... As a British person I would pronounce the "T" in Water.
Supper holly and English with Lucy would be a good starting point.
August 26, 2020
It's just that it might sound like that when spoken quickly. They normally pronounce the "t" like a "d".
August 26, 2020
Still haven’t found your answers?
Write down your questions and let the native speakers help you!
Shami
Language Skills
Arabic, English, German
Learning Language
English
Articles You May Also Like

How to Ask for a Raise or Promotion in English
9 likes · 8 Comments

The Key to Learning a Language Faster
31 likes · 8 Comments

Why "General English" is Failing Your Career (An Engineer’s Perspective)
30 likes · 12 Comments
More articles
