Why do Americans ignore the "T" in words?

[Deleted member 647966]

Ex.
Center: Cenner
Santa: Sanna
Quentin (My name): Que-in
Button: Buh-in

Just wondering, why do Americans do this? The only people I've seen pronounce words like that are Americans, so why do we do this? Does anyone know?

 

[emsr2d2]

It's not a question of ignoring a letter. It's simply a case of pronunciation. I find the first two of your examples fairly common but I've never heard an American say "Que-in" nor have I have heard anything that sounds like "buh-in". In both AmE and BrE, the "tt" in the middle of "button" is frequently swallowed.

 

[MikeNewYork]

Americans do not frequently swallow t's. There are times when the t is not fully pronounced. The only people I have ever heard pronounce button as buh-in are British.

 

[probus]

In another thread, I've recently given an example of an American machine saying the opposite, i.e. using the glottal stop. When somebody programs a machine to pronounce something, I think that means it is very common.

 

[Tdol]

The only people I have ever heard pronounce button as buh-in are British.

Many do that in the UK, though others shudder.

 

[MikeNewYork]

My least favorite is "bottle" as "bah ul".

 

[Tdol]

Having lived in London, or Lahndahn as it is known, as an outsider, I rather like it.