pronounced as /notice/Th-stopping is the realization of the dental fricatives pronounced as /[θ, ð]/ as stops - either dental or alveolar - which occurs in several dialects of English. In some accents, such as of Indian English and middle- or upper-class Irish English, they are realized as the dental stops pronounced as /[t̪, d̪]/ and as such do not merge with the alveolar stops pronounced as //t, d//; thus, for example, tin (pronounced as /[tʰɪn]/ in Ireland and pronounced as /[ʈɪn]/ in India) is not a homophone of thin pronounced as /[t̪ʰɪn]/.[1] In other accents, such as varieties of Caribbean English, Nigerian English, Liberian English, and older, rural, or working-class Irish English, such pairs are indeed merged.[1] Variation between both dental and alveolar forms exists in much of the working-class English speech of North America and sometimes southern England. It is also common for babies and toddlers, who are still learning to talk and/or haven't fully grown their front teeth capable of producing the Th sound. Th-stopping occurred in all continental Germanic languages, resulting in cognates such as German die for "the" and Bruder for "brother".
For the working class of New York City and its surrounding region, the fricatives pronounced as //θ// and pronounced as //ð// are often pronounced as affricatives or stops, rather than as fricatives. Usually they remain dental, so that the oppositions pronounced as //t-θ// and pronounced as /[d-ð]/ are not lost. Thus thanks may be pronounced pronounced as /[θæŋks]/, pronounced as /[tθæŋks]/, or pronounced as /[t̪æŋks]/ in decreasing order of occurrence; all are distinct from tanks pronounced as /[tʰæŋks]/. The pronounced as /[t̪]/ variant has a weakish articulation. The pronounced as //t-θ// opposition may be lost, exceptionally in the environment of a following pronounced as //r// (making three homophonous with tree), and in the case of the word with, (so that with a may rhyme with the non-rhotic pronunciation of "bitter-bidder"; with you may be pronounced as /[wɪtʃu]/, following the same yod-coalescence rule as hit you. These pronunciations are all stigmatized.
The pronounced as /[d-ð]/ opposition seems to be lost more readily, though not as readily as the "Brooklynese" stereotype might lead one to believe. As in many other places, initial pronounced as /[ð]/ is subject to assimilation or deletion in a range of environments in relatively informal and/or popular speech, e.g. who's there pronounced as /[huz (z)ɛə]/; as in many other places, it is also subject to stopping there pronounced as //dɛə//. This option extends to one or two words in which the pronounced as //ð// is not initial, e.g. other, which can thus become a homonym of utter-udder. But it would not be usual for southern to be pronounced identically with sudden or breathe with breed.
In African American Vernacular English, in the words with and nothing, pronounced as /[t]/ may occur corresponding to standard pronounced as /[θ]/, with the [t] itself being succeeded by the t-glottalization rule: thus pronounced as /[wɪʔ]/ for with and pronounced as /[ˈnʌʔɪn]/ for nothing.[2] Th-stopping is also reported for some other non-initial pronounced as /[θ]/s, apparently particularly when preceded by a nasal and followed by a plosive, as keep your mouth closed. In initial position, pronounced as /[θ]/ occurs in AAVE just as in standard accents: thin is pronounced as /[θɪn]/, without the stopping of West Indian accents.[3] Stopping of initial pronounced as /[ð]/, however, is frequent, making then pronounced as pronounced as /[d̪ɪ̃n]/ or sometimes homophonous with den.
Th-stopping is also commonly heard, specifically from speakers of working-class origins, in the American English dialects of the Inland North (for example, in Milwaukee, Chicago, Cleveland, Buffalo, and Scranton), the Upper Midwest (for example in the especially Fennoscandian-descended locals of Minnesota's Iron Range and Michigan's Upper Peninsula), and the Mid-Atlantic region (for example, in Philadelphia and Baltimore),[4] It is also heard in a minority of speakers of England's Estuary dialect (for example, in London), but only in the case of word-initial pronounced as //ð//.[5] Many speakers of Philippine English and some speakers of other variants in Asia also have th-stopping.
The dialect of Sheffield in England is sometimes referred to as "dee-dar" because of the th-stopping to change initial pronounced as //ð// to pronounced as //d//. However, a 1997 study in Sheffield found this was then largely confined to older males.
| pronounced as //t, d// | pronounced as //θ, ð// | IPA | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ate | eighth | pronounced as /ˈeɪt/ | Some accents pronounce ate as pronounced as //ɛt// | |
| Bart | bath | pronounced as /ˈbɑːt/ | Non-rhotic accents with trap–bath split. | |
| bat | bath | pronounced as /ˈbæt/ | Without trap–bath split. | |
| bayed | bathe | pronounced as /ˈbeɪd/ | ||
| bet | Beth | pronounced as /ˈbɛt/ | ||
| bladder | blather | pronounced as /ˈblædə(ɹ)/ | ||
| blight | Blythe | pronounced as /ˈblaɪt/ | ||
| blitter | blither | pronounced as /ˈblɪɾə(ɹ)/ | With intervocalic alveolar flapping. | |
| boat | both | pronounced as /ˈboʊt/ | ||
| body | bothy | pronounced as /ˈbɒɾi/ | Without lot–cloth split and with intervocalic alveolar flapping. | |
| boot | booth | pronounced as /ˈbuːt/ | ||
| breed | breathe | pronounced as /ˈbɹiːd/ | ||
| breath | pronounced as /ˈbɹɛt/ | |||
| brought | broth | pronounced as /ˈbrɔːt/ | With lot–cloth split. Also pronounced as //ˈbrɒt// in some accents. | |
| cedar | seether | pronounced as /ˈsiːdə(ɹ)/ | ||
| cent | synth | pronounced as /ˈsɪnt/ | With pin–pen merger. | |
| cite | scythe | pronounced as /ˈsaɪt/ | ||
| clot | cloth | pronounced as /ˈklɒt/ | Without cot–caught merger. | |
| coot | couth | pronounced as /ˈkuːt/ | ||
| D; dee | the | pronounced as /ˈdiː/ | The before vowels and silent H. | |
| D; dee | thee | pronounced as /ˈdiː/ | ||
| Dan | than | pronounced as /ˈdæn/ | ||
| dare | their | pronounced as /ˈdeə(ɹ)/ | ||
| dare | there | pronounced as /ˈdeə(ɹ)/ | ||
| dare | they're | pronounced as /ˈdeə(ɹ)/ | ||
| the rude | pronounced as /dəˈruːd/ | |||
| day | they | pronounced as /ˈdeɪ/ | ||
| debt | death | pronounced as /ˈdɛt/ | ||
| Dee | the | pronounced as /ˈdiː/ | The before vowels and silent H. | |
| Dee | thee | pronounced as /ˈdiː/ | ||
| den | then | pronounced as /ˈdɛn/ | ||
| dense | thence | pronounced as /ˈdɛns/ | ||
| dents | thence | pronounced as /ˈdɛn(t)s/ | ||
| dhow | thou | pronounced as /ˈdaʊ/ | ||
| die | thy | pronounced as /ˈdaɪ/ | ||
| dine | thine | pronounced as /ˈdaɪn/ | ||
| dirt | dearth | pronounced as /ˈdɜː(ɹ)t/ | with fern–fir–fur merger. | |
| dis | this | pronounced as /ˈdɪs/ | ||
| doe | though | pronounced as /ˈdoʊ/ | ||
| does | those | pronounced as /ˈdoʊz/ | ||
| dough | though | pronounced as /ˈdoʊ/ | ||
| dow | thou | pronounced as /ˈdaʊ/ | ||
| dow | though | pronounced as /ˈdoʊ/ | ||
| drought | drouth | pronounced as /ˈdɹaʊt/ | ||
| dye | thy | pronounced as /ˈdaɪ/ | ||
| eater | either | pronounced as /ˈiːɾə(ɹ)/ | With intervocalic alveolar flapping. | |
| eater | ether | pronounced as /ˈiːtə(ɹ)/ | With intervocalic alveolar flapping. | |
| eight | eighth | pronounced as /ˈeɪt/ | ||
| nth | pronounced as /ˈɛnt/ | |||
| fate | faith | pronounced as /ˈfeɪt/ | ||
| fetter | feather | pronounced as /ˈfɛɾə(ɹ)/ | With intervocalic alveolar flapping. | |
| fit | fifth | pronounced as /ˈfɪt/ | Some accents pronounce fifth as pronounced as //ˈfɪft//. | |
| fodder | father | pronounced as /ˈfɑːdə(ɹ)/ | With father–bother merger. | |
| fort | forth | pronounced as /ˈfɔː(ɹ)t/ | ||
| fort | fourth | pronounced as /ˈfɔː(ɹ)t/ | ||
| fraught | froth | pronounced as /ˈfɹɔːt/ | With lot–cloth split. | |
| frot | froth | pronounced as /ˈfɹɒt/ | Without lot–cloth split. | |
| got | pronounced as /ˈɡɒt/ | |||
| groat | growth | pronounced as /ˈɡɹoʊt/ | ||
| hart | hearth | pronounced as /ˈhɑː(ɹ)t/ | ||
| hat | hath | pronounced as /ˈhæt/ | ||
| header | heather | pronounced as /ˈhɛdə(ɹ)/ | ||
| heart | hearth | pronounced as /ˈhɑː(ɹ)t/ | ||
| heat | heath | pronounced as /ˈhiːt/ | ||
| hitter | hither | pronounced as /ˈhɪɾə(ɹ)/ | With intervocalic alveolar flapping. | |
| hurt | earth | pronounced as /ˈɜː(ɹ)t/ | With H-dropping and fern–fir–fur merger. | |
| Ida | either | pronounced as /ˈaɪdə/ | Non-rhotic accents. | |
| knead | neath | pronounced as /ˈniːd/ | ||
| kneader | neither | pronounced as /ˈniːdə(ɹ)/ | ||
| kneed | neath | pronounced as /ˈniːd/ | ||
| ladder | lather | pronounced as /ˈlædə(ɹ)/ | ||
| lade | lathe | pronounced as /ˈleɪd/ | ||
| laid | lathe | pronounced as /ˈleɪd/ | ||
| latter | lather | pronounced as /ˈlæɾə(ɹ)/ | With intervocalic alveolar flapping. | |
| letter | leather | pronounced as /ˈlɛɾə(ɹ)/ | ||
| lied | lithe | pronounced as /ˈlaɪd/ | ||
| load | loathe | pronounced as /ˈloʊd/ | ||
| lode | loathe | pronounced as /ˈloʊd/ | ||
| loud | Louth | pronounced as /ˈlaʊd/ | ||
| martyr | Martha | pronounced as /ˈmɑːtə/ | Non-rhotic accents. | |
| mat | math | pronounced as /ˈmæt/ | ||
| matte | math | pronounced as /ˈmæt/ | ||
| mead | Meath | pronounced as /ˈmiːd/ | ||
| meat | Meath | pronounced as /ˈmiːt/ | ||
| meet | Meath | pronounced as /ˈmiːt/ | ||
| met | meth | pronounced as /ˈmɛt/ | ||
| mete | Meath | pronounced as /ˈmiːt/ | ||
| mitt | myth | pronounced as /ˈmɪt/ | ||
| motte | moth | pronounced as /ˈmɑt/ | ||
| mutter | mother | pronounced as /ˈmʌɾə(ɹ)/ | With intervocalic alveolar flapping. | |
| naught | north | pronounced as /ˈnɔːt/ | Non-rhotic accents. | |
| neater | neither | pronounced as /ˈniːɾə(ɹ)/ | With intervocalic alveolar flapping. Some accents pronounce neither as pronounced as //ˈnaɪtə(ɹ)//. | |
| neat | neath | pronounced as /ˈniːt/ | ||
| need | neath | pronounced as /ˈniːd/ | ||
| oat | oath | pronounced as /ˈoʊt/ | ||
| oats | oaths | pronounced as /ˈoʊts/ | ||
| odes | oaths | pronounced as /ˈoʊdz/ | ||
| pads | paths | pronounced as /ˈpædz/ | Without trap–bath split. | |
| paid | pathe | pronounced as /ˈpeɪd/ | ||
| part | path | pronounced as /ˈpɑːt/ | Non-rhotic accents with trap–bath split. | |
| parts | paths | pronounced as /ˈpɑːts/ | ||
| pat | path | pronounced as /ˈpæt/ | Without trap–bath split. | |
| pats | paths | pronounced as /ˈpæts/ | ||
| pit | pith | pronounced as /ˈpɪt/ | ||
| pity | pithy | pronounced as /ˈpɪti/ | ||
| rat | wrath | pronounced as /ˈɹæt/ | Without trap–bath split. | |
| rate | wraith | pronounced as /ˈɹeɪt/ | ||
| read | wreathe | pronounced as /ˈɹiːd/ | ||
| reads | wreathes | pronounced as /ˈɹiːdz/ | ||
| reads | wreaths | pronounced as /ˈɹiːdz/ | ||
| reed | wreathe | pronounced as /ˈɹiːd/ | ||
| reeds | wreathes | pronounced as /ˈɹiːdz/ | ||
| reeds | wreaths | pronounced as /ˈɹiːdz/ | ||
| ride | writhe | pronounced as /ˈɹaɪd/ | ||
| rot | Roth | pronounced as /ˈɹɒt/ | Without lot–cloth split. | |
| root | ruth, Ruth | pronounced as /ˈɹuːt/ | With yod-dropping. Some accents pronounce root as pronounced as //ˈɹʊt//. | |
| route | ruth, Ruth | pronounced as /ˈɹuːt/ | With yod-dropping. Some accents pronounce route as pronounced as //ˈɹaʊt//. | |
| scent | synth | pronounced as /ˈsɪnt/ | With pen–pin merger. | |
| seed | seethe | pronounced as /ˈsiːd/ | ||
| seeder | seether | pronounced as /ˈsiːdə(ɹ)/ | ||
| sent | synth | pronounced as /ˈsɪnt/ | With pen–pin merger. | |
| set | saith | pronounced as /ˈsɛt/ | ||
| set | pronounced as /ˈsɛt/ | |||
| she'd | sheathe | pronounced as /ˈʃiːd/ | ||
| sheet | sheath | pronounced as /ˈʃiːt/ | ||
| side | scythe | pronounced as /ˈsaɪd/ | ||
| sight | scythe | pronounced as /ˈsaɪt/ | ||
| sit | pronounced as /ˈsɪt/ | |||
| site | scythe | pronounced as /ˈsaɪt/ | ||
| smit | smith | pronounced as /ˈsmɪt/ | ||
| smite | pronounced as /ˈsmaɪt/ | |||
| spilt | spilth | pronounced as /ˈspɪlt/ | ||
| soot | sooth | pronounced as /ˈsuːt/ | Some accents pronounce soot as pronounced as //ˈsʊt//. | |
| sudden | southern | pronounced as /ˈsʌdən/ | Non-rhotic accents. | |
| sued | soothe | pronounced as /ˈsuːd/ | With yod-dropping. | |
| suede | swathe | pronounced as /ˈsweɪd/ | Some accents pronounce swathe as pronounced as //ˈswɒd//. | |
| suit | sooth | pronounced as /ˈsuːt/ | With yod-dropping. | |
| swat | swath | pronounced as /ˈswɒt/ | Without lot–cloth split. | |
| swayed | swathe | pronounced as /ˈsweɪd/ | Some accents pronounce swathe as pronounced as //ˈswɒd//. | |
| tank | thank | pronounced as /ˈtæŋk/ | ||
| tater | theta | pronounced as /ˈteɪtə/ | Non-rhotic accents. Some accents pronounce theta as pronounced as //ˈtiːtə//. | |
| taught | thought | pronounced as /ˈtɔːt/ | ||
| team | theme | pronounced as /ˈtiːm/ | ||
| teary | theory | pronounced as /ˈtɪəɹi/ | ||
| teat | teeth | pronounced as /ˈtiːt/ | ||
| teed | teethe | pronounced as /ˈtiːd/ | ||
| teeter | theta | pronounced as /ˈtiːtə/ | Non-rhotic accents. Some accents pronounce theta as pronounced as //ˈteɪtə//. | |
| tent | tenth | pronounced as /ˈtɛnt/ | ||
| Thai | thigh | pronounced as /ˈtaɪ/ | ||
| tic | thick | pronounced as /ˈtɪk/ | ||
| tick | thick | pronounced as /ˈtɪk/ | ||
| ticket | thicket | pronounced as /ˈtɪkət/ | ||
| tide | tithe | pronounced as /ˈtaɪd/ | ||
| tie | thigh | pronounced as /ˈtaɪ/ | ||
| tied | tithe | pronounced as /ˈtaɪd/ | ||
| tin | thin | pronounced as /ˈtɪn/ | ||
| tinker | thinker | pronounced as /ˈtɪnkə(ɹ)/ | ||
| toot | tooth | pronounced as /ˈtuːt/ | ||
| tor | thaw | pronounced as /ˈtɔː/ | Non-rhotic accents. | |
| tor | pronounced as /ˈtɔː(ɹ)/ | |||
| tore | thaw | pronounced as /ˈtɔː/ | Non-rhotic accents with horse–hoarse merger. | |
| tore | pronounced as /ˈtɔː(ɹ)/ | With horse–hoarse merger. | ||
| torn | thorn | pronounced as /ˈtɔː(ɹ)n/ | With horse–hoarse merger. | |
| tort | thought | pronounced as /ˈtɔː(ɹ)t/ | Non-rhotic accents. | |
| tote | pronounced as /ˈtoʊt/ | |||
| trash | thrash | pronounced as /ˈtɹæʃ/ | ||
| trawl | thrall | pronounced as /ˈtɹɔːl/ | ||
| tread | thread | pronounced as /ˈtɹɛd/ | ||
| tree | three | pronounced as /ˈtɹiː/ | ||
| trill | thrill | pronounced as /ˈtɹɪl/ | ||
| true | threw | pronounced as /ˈtɹuː, ˈtɹɪu/ | ||
| true | through | pronounced as /ˈtɹuː/ | With yod-dropping. | |
| trust | thrust | pronounced as /ˈtɹʌst/ | ||
| tum | thumb | pronounced as /ˈtʌm/ | ||
| tump | thump | pronounced as /ˈtʌmp/ | ||
| turd | third | pronounced as /ˈtɜː(ɹ)d/ | With fern–fir–fur merger. | |
| udder | other | pronounced as /ˈʌdə(ɹ)/ | ||
| utter | other | pronounced as /ˈʌɾə(ɹ)/ | With intervocalic alveolar flapping. | |
| Utes | youths | pronounced as /ˈjuːts/ | ||
| welt | wealth | pronounced as /ˈwɛlt/ | ||
| wetter | weather | pronounced as /ˈwɛɾə(ɹ)/ | With intervocalic alveolar flapping. | |
| wit | width | pronounced as /ˈwɪt/ | ||
| wit | with | pronounced as /ˈwɪt/ | ||
| wordy | worthy | pronounced as /ˈwɜː(ɹ)di, ˈwʌɹdi/ | ||
| wort | worth | pronounced as /ˈwɜː(ɹ)t, ˈwʌɹt/ | Some accents pronounce wort as pronounced as //ˈwɔː(ɹ)t//. | |
| wrought | Roth | pronounced as /ˈɹɔːt/ | With lot–cloth split. | |
| wrought | wroth | pronounced as /ˈɹɔːt/ | With lot–cloth split. |
pronounced as /navigation/