Matter and Madder.

To american native

What's the difference between the dd sound and the tt sound,

The american tt in matter is exactly the same as the spanish R or is different?


And what's the difference between the d in day and the dd in madder ?

I've been looking for a long time and i've never got to find the way to pronouce those sounds, i don't understand why but most of websites about american pronunciation doesn't include them , like if they didn't exist, so what i really want is that some native tell how i have to put my mouth, tongue, etc, ...

Ok. Depending on the American dialect, there may be no perceptable difference in the dd and tt sounds (both sound like dd.) Or people may not enunciate clearly enough for a distinction to be heard.

So in the sentences,
"The universe is made up of matter." and "The angry woman got even madder"
matter and madder _both_ may sound like madder.

But generally, an educated person who speaks clearly will slightly emphasize the tt sound, which sounds just like a single t (like the t in ton.) So water sounds like "wah-ter". Again, it wouldn't be uncommon to hear it pronounced "wah-der"

Oftentimes in music, a singer will over-emphasize their* enunciation so that the words are clearer.



*informal "their" in place of his/her is another issue already discussed in a previous thread

I've been told that some Americans pronounce "wah-rer" and "beh-rer" for water and better. Is this so?

"madder" - hard "d" sound
"matter" - very light tapped "d" sound, similar to the Spanish "r" in "pero"

There is no difference between the "d" in "day" and the "dd" in "madder".

"madder" and "matter" sound different to me. As Elaine says, "madder" has a hard "d" sound and "matter" has a light tapped "d" sound.

As for "wah-rer" and "beh-rer" for "water" and "better" -- I can't say I've ever heard it (other than perhaps by very young children). I can't even think of any U.S. dialect where it would be pronounced that way.

Dulcinea is right on the nose with his explanation of the hard "d" sound and the light tapped "d" sound. In addition, the "a" sound is different in the two words (definitely in my accent).

To all my American friends in here......will you PLEASE broadcast on national radio and TV to everyone there the correct way to pronounce the name of my home city....EDINBURGH?

Correct: 'e-din-br-e:(r) Emphasis on first syllable

Wrong: e-din-'burr-ow

Thanks :-)

I owe you one

bet you say it doesn't really madder! :-)

LOL To me it does anyway....

Mjd, actually it was Elaine's explanation, not mine.

Are you perchance Hungarian? My grandmother was and constantly got the English "he/she" mixed up (Hungarian has neither). Very embarrasing in social situations.

My apologies, Elaine.

Dulcinea,

No, I'm American. I'm from New Jersey.

Also know as "The Armpit of the Universe".

To: ALL

<<Dulcinea is right on the nose with HIS explanation >>

Dulcinea sounds like a "girls" name. It is Italian or Spanish by any chance?

i.e Hola Dulcinea como le va?

It's a name that tickles my fancy. If I ever have children is a name that I would contemplate using for naming a daughter. :-)

<<"matter" - very light tapped "d" sound, similar to the Spanish "r" in "pero">>

So why is it that I constantly hear English speakers complaining and whining about being uncapable of producing this particular Castillian phoneme?

<<What's the difference between the dd sound and the tt sound>>

There is a huge difference between these two phonemes for me. I would never mix up the two. Never. Is like saying that TAN and DAN are indistinguishable. Totally absurd IMHO.

<<As for "wah-rer" and "beh-rer" for "water" and "better" -- I can't say I've ever heard it (other than perhaps by very young children)>>

Yeah, I'll with this. My sentiments exactly.

I often hear people frequently commenting on how US Americans replace the "d" in a word with a "t".

i.e. CITY ---> CIDY

Now I'm hearing that they are replacing that "t" sound with a phoneme similar to the Spanish soft "r". I'm confused.

I remember now where I've heard Dulcinea before. It's in Don Quixote De La Mancha novel.

Very good, Juan! That's the first thing I thought when I read "Dulcinea". Maybe we're right? =)

Then again, I just finished that novel the other day....


> I often hear people frequently commenting on how US Americans replace
> the "d" in a word with a "t".

> i.e. CITY ---> CIDY

Some dialects do this, yes.

> Now I'm hearing that they are replacing that "t" sound with a phoneme
> similar to the Spanish soft "r". I'm confused.

Other dialects do this (New York, New Orleans, perhaps New Jersey areas as well?).

And still other people say it "city" with a very pronounced /t/ and those who will use glottal stops (though I've heard this more in place of /d/, as in the case of "didn't", which becomes /dI? @~n/ (? - glottal stop, @ - schwa, ~ - nasalization). Dialects are crazy, aren't they? =)