Shake that gringo accent off, 3 /t/ tips

Tired of the way your /t/ sounds? Most probably you’re missing one of these 3 key points. Open that Sounds of English and Spanish animation window, and read on.


1 Dental articulation

This goes for English and German speakers alike. You guys articulate the /t/ on the alveolar ridge, which is just behind the teeth. In Spanish, /t/ is articulated on the back of the teeth, just like the "th" in words like think or with. Try to keep your tongue plain, and touch those teeth with the tip.


2 No aspiration

I’ve said something about this on the last post. Remember those plosives? They consist on three stages, 1.- closure of the oral cavity, 2.- air pressure built up in the mouth, 3.-realease of that air in a burst. In English, when we release that air, we push it from the lungs, that’s why there’s aspiration, that extra sound when /t/ is in a stressed syllable, like in twist.
In Spanish, we close our throats just before the third stage, and that’s why we only release the air contained inside the mouth. And that’s why the Spanish /t/ sounds "softer".
If you’re still not sure what aspiration is, think about dialects like Irish English and Welsh English, they’ve got a pretty strong aspiration.


3 No affrication

First of all, what’s affrication? It’s when /t/ is released a bit slower, and we hear an extra sound, much like the "ch" in the word change. This is very usual when /t/ is in a strong accented position, in words like time or two. This never happens in Spanish, and it’s why it’s so hard for Spanish speakers to produce the English /t/ properly. If you ever hear a native Spanish speaker, try to notice how he or she pronounces his or her English /t/. Chances are he’s missing the affrication, and even articulating the /t/ on the teeth (which is what you should do!).