I don't understand "can't" without "t" in American English Thank you so much for a lot of opinions about my previous entry. I learned a lot of things from them. I understand how to distinguish "can'

Na Nobu

I don't understand "can't" without "t" in American English Thank you so much for a lot of opinions about my previous entry. I learned a lot of things from them. I understand how to distinguish "can't" without "t" from "can" in British English, but I don't in American English. I watched videos dealing with it and asked a teacher what's the difference. I understood what they said, but I can't pronounce and listen to it perfectly. I've almost gave in. My accent is influenced by Canadian accent because my favorite band's vocalist is from Canada and I imitate how he sings often. Isn't it strange that only when I say "can't" without "t", I speak with another accent?

Mar 4, 2021 2:43 AM

Corrections · 18

Hi, Nobu! There’s this thing called a glottal stop, which sometimes takes the place of a “t” in English. Just look it up on YouTube. That may help you distinguish between “can” and “can’t” in fast speech. Also, when you pronounce “can” in AmE the letter “a” is usually reduced to the schwa sound, while in “can’t” it’s not only retained, but also elongated to the “ea” sound.

March 4, 2021

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