pronunciation - "nt" pronounced as "n" in American English (as in "Internet"): what is it called?


I know that pronouncing "t" as "d" is called a flap t, but is there a name for pronouncing "nt" as "n" in some words, as is common in American English?


Examples:



  • "Internet" is pronounced as "inner net".

  • "interesting" is pronounced as "inner resting".


Is there an scientific name for this?



Answer



The Wikipedia article on intervocalic alveolar flapping addresses this directly:



The cluster [nt] can also be flapped/tapped; the IPA symbol for a nasal tap is [ɾ̃]. As a result, in quick speech, words like winner and winter can become homophonous. Flapping/tapping does not occur for most speakers in words like carpenter and ninety, which instead surface with [d].



The name for the phenomenon would be “intervocalic alveolar flapping of [nt] clusters”


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