#1  
Old 14-Jun-2006, 15:55
j4mes_bond25's Avatar
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Question Additional "t" sound ???

Is there any rules or logic in the pronunciation of certain words where the sound of "t" appears out of nowhere:
>> Nazi: nA:t.zi
>> Pizza: pIt.z@
>> Mozart: m@.Ut.sA:t
However, similar sounding word "Dizzy" has NOT got the "t" sound in it for some reason.
Addition of "t" sound in between the sounds of "n" & "s" (in Pension, Tension, chance, sense, etc.) is a rather intrigued phonetic/pronunciation aspect ALONG with equally interesting is this particular addition of "t" sound scenario.
Is there any official name given to such scenario & when exactly does this sound of additional "t" occur ???
Which are the other similar words having additional "t" sound without the actual "t" letter in the word itself ???
  #2  
Old 15-Jun-2006, 03:26
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Default Re: Additional "t" sound ???

I suppose that in Italian or German, the "t" sound goes with the z and since English borrowed Nazi, pizza and Mozart, the "t" sound remains. I don't know the roots of dizzy but i suppose it comes from a language that does not have a "t" sound with the letter z :)

Quote:
Originally Posted by j4mes_bond25
Is there any rules or logic in the pronunciation of certain words where the sound of "t" appears out of nowhere:
>> Nazi: nA:t.zi
>> Pizza: pIt.z@
>> Mozart: m@.Ut.sA:t
However, similar sounding word "Dizzy" has NOT got the "t" sound in it for some reason.
Addition of "t" sound in between the sounds of "n" & "s" (in Pension, Tension, chance, sense, etc.) is a rather intrigued phonetic/pronunciation aspect ALONG with equally interesting is this particular addition of "t" sound scenario.
Is there any official name given to such scenario & when exactly does this sound of additional "t" occur ???
Which are the other similar words having additional "t" sound without the actual "t" letter in the word itself ???
  #3  
Old 18-Jun-2006, 05:09
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Default Re: Additional "t" sound ???

What you are describing here is a consonant which has no equivalent in the Latin alphabet. It is unknown in English, but is best approximated by the closing syllable of a word like 'fits'. In the Cyrillic alphabet, there is a letter for it, which I can best describe as u-with a tail. In the closest modern European language to Latin (Romanian), the sound is denoted by t with a cedilla.

The reason is that Latin had no 'z' sound - it borrowed the sibilant Greek sound of 'ts' and invented the 'z' character for it. That is why Italians pronounce 'z' as they do. The modern 'z' sound is entirely an invention of the Germanic tribes, who passed it into English without the initial part of the diphthong. Words derived from English like 'dizzy' do not retain the sibilance.
  #4  
Old 18-Jun-2006, 11:00
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Default Re: Additional "t" sound ???

How would Germans say Mercedes Benz? I was just wondereing because I hear it as a z sound in English.
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