Natasha L Warner wrote:
> responding to Karen's suggestion of flapped /t/ vs. /d/, the trouble with
> that one is that for most Americans, even within a dialect, these aren't
> distinct at all: it's a neutralization, not a distinction. There may be
> incomplete neutralization, but accuracy rates on identification are maybe
> around 55-60% (from memory, this is from Port's work, among others). In
> some dialects (like mine), pairs with the diphthong /aJ/ before them are
> pretty distinct, because of diphthong raising, so that "writer/rider" is
> pretty clear to a listener of the same dialect. Maybe I misunderstood the
> question--I was thinking of things that are distinct in some other
> language, but difficult for English listeners to learn to perceive.
Natasha is right that the distinction is mostly neutralized in running
speech. But I clearly remember comparing pairs like this as a kid (yes,
I know, weird kid) and feeling they were somehow different, though I
couldn't quite put my finger on what that difference was.
I would say they sometimes contrast in production but perhaps less on
the conscious perception side. "Liter" and "leader" are definitely
different for me, in any case, mainly due to vowel length, slight though
the difference is.
Karen Chung
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