How to pronounce Glottal T t→ʔ in American English

/t/ becomes a glottal stop [ʔ] — a catch in the throat. The schwa in the following syllable is dropped, making the nasal syllabic.

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The glottal-stop T is the American shortcut where /t/ before a syllabic /n/ becomes a sharp catch in the throat, the same catch you hear in the middle of uh-oh. The schwa drops and the /n/ takes over as its own syllable. Button sounds like BUH-uhn; kitten, KIH-uhn; written, RIH-uhn; mountain, MOWN-uhn. The rule applies before syllabic N, not syllabic L. Bottle and little use the flap-T instead.

How it triggers

Watch it happen in real words.

Three example words showing exactly when this rule fires.

button

The clearest case. /t/ between /ʌ/ and the unstressed schwa-plus-/n/ collapses to a glottal stop, the schwa drops, and the /n/ becomes syllabic — BUH-uhn. Same pattern in cotton, gotten, rotten, Manhattan.

kitten

Identical mechanic with a different vowel — KIH-uhn. The throat-catch replaces the /t/, the schwa absorbs into the /n/, and the word lands in two syllables instead of three. Compare written, bitten, smitten.

mountain

Trickier because your tongue is already touching the roof of your mouth for the N in moun-. Don't move it. Hold your tongue there, catch the air in your throat for the glottal stop, and release the final breath through your nose: MOWN-(catch)-uhn. The same mechanic applies to fountain (the N before the T), certain (the R before the T), and important. That consonant-T-N sequence trips up many ESL speakers; American speakers fold the /t/ into a glottal stop without thinking about it.

Where you'll hear it

In real American conversation.

The glottal-stop T is everywhere in American speech: news anchors, podcast hosts, sitcoms, casual conversation. Words ending in -tten or -ton almost always get it: forgotten, gotten, cotton, written, kitten, Manhattan. Same with mountain, certain, fountain, important. Release a fully-popped T in any of these and the listener hears it as British or as someone reading aloud rather than talking.

Underlying sounds

The sound this rule transforms.

Click to explore the T's full sound page — its citation form, variants, and how the glottal stop fits in.

/t/

/t/ as in TEN

Hear the throat-catch in everyday words

Words where the T turns into a quick catch.

Tap any to hear the glottal stop replace the T before a syllabic N.

Hear it in sentences

Hear the throat-catch in fluent speech.

Five sentences with glottal-T words at the rhythm peak — listen for the catch where the T should be and the nasal syllable that follows.

Have you eaten lunch yet?

hav yoo EE·tuhn LUHNCH yeht?

Could you close the curtain, please?

kuud yuh KLOHZ dhuh KUR·tuhn PLEEZ?

I'm certain he knows the correct answer.

ahym SUR·tuhn hee NOHZ dhuh kuh·REHKT AN·ser.

The kitten is playing with a ball of yarn.

dhuh KIH·tuhn ihz PLAY·uhng wihth uh BAHL uhv YARN.

I can't find the right button on this shirt.

ahy KANT FAHYND dhuh RAHYT BUH·tuhn ahn dhihs SHURT.

FAQ

Common questions about Glottal T.

What exactly is a glottal stop?

A sudden pause in airflow created by snapping your vocal cords shut, exactly like the catch in the middle of uh-oh. American English uses this throat-catch in place of /t/ when /t/ sits before a syllabic /n/. Try it: say uh-oh and notice the tight hold in your throat. Now apply that same hold to the middle of button (BUH-uhn). Skip the T entirely and push the sound straight through your nose for the N.

Is it wrong to pronounce the T fully in "mountain" or "certain"?

Not strictly wrong, but it sounds heavily accented or oddly formal. A released T in mountain or certain adds an extra puff of air and a vowel that locals simply don't make. American listeners expect the quick throat-catch instead. The glottal stop in this exact context is one of the bigger single moves toward sounding like an American rather than a careful learner.

Why does the vowel disappear in words like "kitten" and "button"?

The vowel disappears because the /n/ takes over as its own syllable. Once the glottal stop traps the airflow in your throat, your tongue is already at the alveolar ridge, exactly where it needs to be for the /n/. There's no need to open your mouth for a vowel in between. You hold the breath, keep your tongue up, and release the sound through your nose. The N becomes syllabic and the schwa is gone.

Watch it happen in real words.

button

kitten

mountain

In real American conversation.

The sound this rule transforms.

/t/ as in TEN

Words where the T turns into a quick catch.

Hear the throat-catch in fluent speech.

Have you eaten lunch yet?

Could you close the curtain, please?

I'm certain he knows the correct answer.

The kitten is playing with a ball of yarn.

I can't find the right button on this shirt.

Common questions about Glottal T.

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