美语听力与发音技巧第14期 | “t”的发音
摘要： 在美式英语的自然语流中，字母“t”位于两个浊音之间时，常被发成类似“d”的闪音（flap / tap sound），这种现象称为“t-flapping”。该发音规则常见于非重读音节中，但在强调或慢速说话时仍保留清晰的/t/音。
- 美式英语中，“t”夹在两个浊音之间时常被发成类似“d”的闪音。
- 所有元音、双元音及15个浊辅音（如b、d、g、m、n、l、r等）都属于浊音。
- 典型例子包括“matter”读作“mader”、“butter”读作“buder”等。
- 当“t”出现在重读音节前（如“return”）或说话者刻意强调时，仍发标准/t/音。
- 掌握这一规则有助于提升听力理解与口语自然度。
小白老师说：美语听力与发音技巧，今天的主题是“t”的发音，音频是中英文双语的，请点击下方条形框播放。
Welcome to Daily Tips on Learning English. Today’s tip is on the pronunciation of the letter “t”.
Of course the letter “t” is usually pounced “t”. But you may have noticed that in fluent speech, native speakers sometimes pronounced the “t” as “d”. That happens when the “t” comes between two voiced sounds.
Do you know what sounds in English are voiced? Well, there’re 15 voiced consonant sounds in English. b, d, g, m, n, ɡ, z,δ, l, r, dз,з,j,w. Also, all vowel and diphthong sounds in English are voiced. So let’s look at some examples of words in which the “t” may be pronounced “d”.
No.1 “matter”. “matter” is often pronounced “mader” as in “What’s the matter?”
No.2 “atom”. “atom” is often pronounced “adom” as in “The first atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.”
No.3 “twenty”. “twenty” is often pronounced “twendi” as in “That will be twenty dollars, please.”
No.4 “little”. “little” is often pronounced “liddle” as in “He got a little angry.”
No.5 “city”. “city” is often pronounced “cidi” as in “Did you grow up in the city or the country?”
No.6 “butter”. “butter” is often pronounced “buder” as in “Pass the butter, please.”
When people speak slowly or emphatically, however, they usually pronounce the “t” like “t”, not like “d”. Also, a “t” does not sound like “d” when it comes before a stressed vowel as in “return”.
This has been today’s daily tip on learning English. Tune in tomorrow for another tip.
常见问题
为什么美语中的“t”有时听起来像“d”？
因为在美式英语中，当“t”位于两个浊音之间且处于非重读位置时，会自然发成闪音（类似“d”），这是正常的语音弱化现象。
哪些单词中的“t”会被发成“d”？
例如“matter”、“atom”、“twenty”、“little”、“city”和“butter”等词中的“t”在自然语流中常被发成类似“d”的音。
什么时候“t”不会被发成“d”？
当“t”出现在重读音节前（如“return”）或说话者放慢语速、强调发音时，通常保留清晰的/t/音。
参考资料
American English Flap T
语音学中关于美式英语闪音（flap t）的标准描述，常见于语言教学资料。
Voiced and Voiceless Sounds in English
英语浊音与清音的分类是语音学习的基础知识，文中列出的15个浊辅音符合主流语音学观点。