Th-stopping

Th-stopping is the realization of the dental fricatives [θ, ð] as stops—either dental or alveolar—which occurs in several dialects of English. In some accents, such as some Irish English, Indian English, and much of the working-class English in North America and sometimes southern England, they are realized as the dental stops [t̪, d̪] and as such do not merge with the alveolar stops /t, d/. Thus pairs like tin/thin and den/then are not homophonous.^[1] In other accents, such as Caribbean English, Nigerian English, and Liberian English, such pairs are indeed merged.^[1] Th-stopping occurred in all continental Germanic languages, resulting in cognates such as German die, "the", and Bruder, "brother".

New York City English

For the working class of New York City and its surrounding region, the fricatives /θ/ and /ð/ are often pronounced as affricatives or stops, rather than as fricatives. Usually they remain dental, so that the oppositions /t-θ/ and [d-ð] are not lost. Thus thanks may be pronounced [θæŋks], [tθæŋks], or [t̪æŋks] in decreasing order of occurrence; all are distinct from tanks. The [t̪] variant has a weakish articulation. The /t-θ/ opposition may be lost, exceptionally in the environment of a following /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 [wɪtʃu], following the same yod-coalescence rule as hit you. These pronunciations are all stigmatized.

The [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 [ð] is subject to assimilation or deletion in a range of environments in relatively informal and/or popular speech, e.g. who's there [huz (z)ɛə]; as in many other places, it is also subject to stopping there /dɛə/. This option extends to one or two words in which the /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.

African American Vernacular English

In African American Vernacular English, in the words with and nothing, [t] may occur corresponding to standard [θ], with the [t] itself being succeeded by the t-glottalization rule: thus [wɪʔ] for with and [ˈnʌʔɪn] for nothing.^[2]:83 Th-stopping is also reported for some other non-initial [θ]s, apparently particularly when preceded by a nasal and followed by a plosive, as keep your mouth closed.^[2]:90 In initial position, [θ] occurs in AAVE just as in standard accents: thin is [θɪn], without the stopping of West Indian accents.^[3] Stopping of initial [ð], however, is frequent making then homophonous with den.

Frequency in other accents

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 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 case of the word-initial /ð/.^[5] Many speakers of Philippine English and some speakers of other variants in Asia also have th-stopping.

Homophonous pairs

/t, d/	/θ, ð/	IPA	Notes
ate	eighth	ˈeɪt
Bart	bath	ˈbɑːt	Non-rhotic accents with trap-bath split.
bat	bath	ˈbæt	Without trap-bath split.
bayed	bathe	ˈbeɪd
bet	Beth	ˈbɛt
bladder	blather	ˈblædə(ɹ)
blight	Blythe	ˈblaɪt
blitter	blither	ˈblɪɾə(ɹ)	With intervocalic alveolar flapping.
boat	both	ˈboʊt
body	bothy	ˈbɒɾi	Without lot-cloth split and with intervocalic alveolar flapping.
boot	booth	ˈbuːt
breed	breathe	ˈbɹiːd
Brett	breath	ˈbɹɛt
cedar	seether	ˈsiːdə(ɹ)
cent	synth	ˈsɪnt	With pen-pin merger.
cite	scythe	ˈsaɪt
clot	cloth	ˈklɒt	Without cot–caught merger.
coot	couth	ˈkuːt
Dan	than	ˈdæn
dare	their	ˈdeə(ɹ)
dare	there	ˈdeə(ɹ)
day	they	ˈdeɪ
debt	death	ˈdɛt
Dee	the	ˈdiː	The before vowels and silent H.
Dee	thee	ˈdiː
den	then	ˈdɛn
dense	thence	ˈdɛns
dents	thence	ˈdɛn(t)s
dhow	thou	ˈdaʊ
die	thy	ˈdaɪ
dine	thine	ˈdaɪn
dirt	dearth	ˈdɜː(ɹ)t	with fern-fir-fur merger.
dis	this	ˈdɪs
doe	though	ˈdoʊ
does	those	ˈdoʊz
dough	though	ˈdoʊ
dow	thou	ˈdaʊ
dow	though	ˈdoʊ
drought	drouth	ˈdɹaʊt
dye	thy	ˈdaɪ
eater	either	ˈiːɾə(ɹ)
eater	ether	ˈiːtə(ɹ)
eight	eighth	ˈeɪt
fate	faith	ˈfeɪt
fetter	feather	ˈfɛɾə(ɹ)	With intervocalic alveolar flapping.
fit	fifth	ˈfɪt	Some accents pronounce fifth as /ˈfɪft/.
fodder	father	ˈfɑdə(ɹ)	With father-bother merger.
fort	forth	ˈfoə(ɹ)t
fort	fourth	ˈfoə(ɹ)t
fraught	froth	ˈfɹɔːt	With lot-cloth split.
frot	froth	ˈfɹɒt	Without lot-cloth split.
got	goth, Goth	ˈɡɒt
groat	growth	ˈɡɹoʊt
hart	hearth	ˈhɑː(ɹ)t
header	heather	ˈhɛdə(ɹ)
heart	hearth	ˈhɑː(ɹ)t
heat	heath	ˈhiːt
hitter	hither	ˈhɪɾə(ɹ)	With intervocalic alveolar flapping.
hurt	earth	ˈɜː(ɹ)t	With H-dropping and fern-fir-fur merger.
Ida	either	ˈaɪdə	Non-rhotic accents.
knead	neath	ˈniːd
kneader	neither	ˈniːdə(ɹ)
kneed	neath	ˈniːd
ladder	lather	ˈlædə(ɹ)
lade	lathe	ˈleɪd
laid	lathe	ˈleɪd
latter	lather	ˈlæɾə(ɹ)	With intervocalic alveolar flapping.
letter	leather	ˈlɛɾə(ɹ)
lied	lithe	ˈlaɪd
load	loathe	ˈloʊd
lout	Louth	ˈlaʊt
mat	math	ˈmæt
mead	Meath	ˈmiːd
meat	Meath	ˈmiːt
meet	Meath	ˈmiːt
mete	Meath	ˈmiːt
mit	myth	ˈmɪt
mutter	mother	ˈmʌɾə(ɹ)	With intervocalic alveolar flapping.
naught	north	ˈnɔːt	Non-rhotic accents.
neater	neither	ˈniːɾə(ɹ)	With intervocalic alveolar flapping.
neat	neath	ˈniːt
need	neath	ˈniːd
oat	oath	ˈoʊt
oats	oaths	ˈoʊts
odes	oaths	ˈoʊdz
pads	paths	ˈpædz	Without trap-bath split.
paid	pathe	ˈpeɪd
part	path	ˈpɑːt	Non-rhotic accents with trap-bath split.
parts	paths	ˈpɑːts
pat	path	ˈpæt	Without trap-bath split.
pats	paths	ˈpæts
pit	pith	ˈpɪt
pity	pithy	ˈpɪti
rat	wrath	ˈɹæt	Without trap-bath split.
rate	wraith	ˈɹeɪt
read	wreathe	ˈɹiːd
reads	wreathes	ˈɹiːdz
reads	wreaths	ˈɹiːdz
reed	wreathe	ˈɹiːd
reeds	wreathes	ˈɹiːdz
reeds	wreaths	ˈɹiːdz
ride	writhe	ˈɹaɪd
rot	Roth	ˈɹɒt	Without lot-cloth split.
root	ruth, Ruth	ˈɹuːt	With ewe-yew-you merger. Some accents pronounce root as /ˈɹʊt/.
route	ruth, Ruth	ˈɹuːt
scent	synth	ˈsɪnt	With pen-pin merger.
seed	seethe	ˈsiːd
seeder	seether	ˈsiːdə(ɹ)
sent	synth	ˈsɪnt	With pen-pin merger.
set	saith	ˈsɛt
set	Seth	ˈsɛt
she'd	sheathe	ˈʃiːd
sheet	sheath	ˈʃiːt
side	scythe	ˈsaɪd
sight	scythe	ˈsaɪt
sit	Sith	ˈsɪt
site	scythe	ˈsaɪt
smit	smith	ˈsmɪt
smite	Smyth	ˈsmaɪt
spilt	spilth	ˈspɪlt
soot	sooth	ˈsuːt	Some accents pronounce soot as /ˈsʊt/.
sudden	southern	ˈsʌdən	Non-rhotic accents.
sued	soothe	ˈsuːd	With ewe-yew-you merger.
suede	swathe	ˈsweɪd	Some accents pronounce swathe as /ˈswɒd/.
suit	sooth	ˈsuːt	With ewe-yew-you merger.
swat	swath	ˈswɒt	Without lot-cloth split.
swayed	swathe	ˈsweɪd	Some accents pronounce swathe as /ˈswɒd/.
tank	thank	ˈtæŋk
taught	thought	ˈtɔːt
teat	teeth	ˈtiːt
tent	tenth	ˈtɛnt
Thai	thigh	ˈtaɪ
tick	thick	ˈtɪk
tide	tithe	ˈtaɪd
tie	thigh	ˈtaɪ
tied	tithe	ˈtaɪd
tin	thin	ˈtɪn
toot	tooth	ˈtuːt
tor	thaw	ˈtɔː	Non-rhotic accents.
tor	Thor	ˈtɔː(ɹ)
tore	thaw	ˈtɔː	Non-rhotic accents with horse-hoarse merger.
tore	Thor	ˈtɔː(ɹ)	With horse-hoarse merger.
torn	thorn	ˈtɔː(ɹ)n	With horse-hoarse merger.
tort	thought	ˈtɔː(ɹ)t	Non-rhotic accents.
trash	thrash	ˈtɹæʃ
trawl	thrall	ˈtɹɔːl
tread	thread	ˈtɹɛd
tree	three	ˈtɹiː
true	threw	ˈtɹuː, ˈtɹɪu
true	through	ˈtɹuː	With ewe-yew-you merger.
tum	thumb	ˈtʌm
tump	thump	ˈtʌmp
turd	third	ˈtɜː(ɹ)d	With fern-fir-fur merger.
udder	other	ˈʌdə(ɹ)
utter	other	ˈʌɾə(ɹ)	With intervocalic alveolar flapping.
Utes	youths	ˈjuːts
welt	wealth	ˈwɛlt
wetter	weather	ˈwɛɾə(ɹ)	With intervocalic alveolar flapping.
wit	width	ˈwɪt
wit	with	ˈwɪt
wordy	worthy	ˈwɜː(ɹ)di, ˈwʌɹdi
wort	worth	ˈwɜː(ɹ)t, ˈwʌɹt	Some accents pronounce wort as /ˈwɔː(ɹ)t/.
wrought	Roth	ˈɹɔːt	With lot-cloth split.

See also

• List of Th-stopping homophones

References

1. Wells, J.C. (1989). The British Isles. Accents of English. 2. Cambridge: University Press. pp. 565–66, 635. ISBN 9780521285407.
2. Wolfram, Walter A. (September 1970). "A Sociolinguistic Description of Detroit Negro Speech". Language. 46 (3): 764. doi:10.2307/412325. ISSN 0097-8507. JSTOR 412325.
3. Wolfram 1969, p. 130, does however mention the use of 'a lenis [t]' as a rare variant.
4. van den Doel, Rias (2006). How Friendly Are the Natives? An Evaluation of Native-Speaker Judgements of Foreign-Accented British and American English (PDF). Landelijke onderzoekschool taalwetenschap (Netherlands Graduate School of Linguistics). p. 268.
5. van den Doel, Rias (2006). How Friendly Are the Natives? An Evaluation of Native-Speaker Judgements of Foreign-Accented British and American English (PDF). Landelijke onderzoekschool taalwetenschap (Netherlands Graduate School of Linguistics). p. 251.