English pronouncitation help !?

Question

if i wanna say "curtis" , "artist " and many other words with "rt" on it ,

can i say it like curris / ar rist . ? like say it without "t" sound

if not .. then what is the easiet way to pronounce them :D?

Answer 1

It depends what form of English you are speaking. It is quite correct that Americans would pronounce the t as a d in this context. Londoners would not pronounce the t, but would replace it with a glottal stop. Standard English pronunciation, however, as recognised in the UK and elsewhere would expect the t to be pronounced as a t.

Answer 2

First, try pronouncing each syllable of the word separately. For example, practice saying "Cur-tis" and "ar-tist," breaking the "rt" consonant cluster that is causing you trouble so that the "r" and the "t" belong in separate syllables. Practice pronouncing the syllables slowly at first, then gradually speed up your speech and soon you will be able to pronounce each word smoothly. Eventually, your tongue will get used to making the "rt" sound and you will be able to say "Curt" or "art."

Like others have already mentioned, Americans often pronounce certain "t" sounds as "d" sounds in rapid speech, but it depends on the sentence really. For example, you would say "ArD is beautiful" but "I like that piece of arT." (Or even in the same word, it varies. I would say "arDisT" or even "arDis" in rapid speech.)

Answer 3

The "T" is not silent.

EDIT: audrey_ariana is mistaken. A "T" should never ever be pronounced like a "D." I don't where she got that idea. "T" and "D" are two separate characters to represent two very distinct sounds.

Answer 4

You can't avoid the T, unfortunately. People will probably still be able to understand you, but some might have trouble. I suggest trying to get as close as possible to the RT sound. It doesn't have to be exact. Just recognizable. ^^

Answer 5

You need to say it with the "t", but actually, when it is spoken fluently, the "t" sounds more like a "d".