Keywords

word-final, American English, glottal stops, Western United States, linguistics

Abstract

In word-final prevocalic position (e.g., right ankle), there are various possible phonetic realizations of /t/ in American English: [t], [r], [?]. The present study focuses on the linguistic and social factors associated with the use of the glottal stop. Datat were gathered by having participants repeat sentences they were presented auditorily (e.g, She twisted her right ankle). The particular pronunciation of /t/ in the presented sentences was masked with a tone. Logistic regression analysis identified three significant factors: (1) glottal stops were favored by following front vowels; (2) younger female speakers were most likely to use glottal stops, which may indicate a change in progress; and (3) speakers from the Western United States glottalized more than speakers from other parts fo the country.

Original Publication Citation

2009. “T-glottalization in American English.” Article coauthored with Michael Taylor. American Speech 81.298-314.