Keywords

hypoarticulation, post-tonic /tən/ variation in mountain, glottal–nasal alternations in unstressed /tən/

Abstract

Today’s sociolinguistic variable: realization of post-tonic, unstressed /tən/ – e.g. mountain, button, kitten, satin – Hereafter, a Wellsesque inspirated label: MOUNTAIN – Three main variants:

1. [tʰɨn] • aspirated alveolar stop + reduced vowel + nasal • AmE citation form, formal, careful • Probably accessible by most speakers.

2. [ʔn̩] • glottal stop + syllabic nasal • AmE standard, casual, typical. • The most common for probably all speakers.

3. [ʔɨn] • glottal stop + reduced vowel + nasal • Non-mainstream: found in Utah, New York, and scattered elsewhere (Roberts 2006, Freeman et al. 2012, Eddington & Brown 2021, Davidson et al. 2021)

Original Publication Citation

Joseph A. Stanley. “Utahns sound Utahn when they avoid sounding Utahn.” The 97th Annual Meeting of the Linguistic Society of America. Denver, CO. January 5–8.