(Untitled)

[mysteree80]

Every now and then there's a little something that reminds me that English isn't my first language after all. Case in point: I don't get this whole "cents/sense" thing I've been hearing about all my life. I say them differently. One has a t, the other doesn't! Is the t in cents supposed to be completely silent, or is there an implied t-like sound

Comments

[jade_sabre_301]

...how do you say them differently? I guess I say "cents" a little harder than I say "sense," kind of chopping the end of the former a little more, but other than that...they are the same? You don't pronounce the "t."

[mysteree80]

I pronounce the t.

This makes sense to me: One cent. Two cents.

This doesn't: One cent. Two cens.

[jade_sabre_301]

well, the "ts" sound is weird and not one we really have in English. Also, keep in mind the fact that lots of Americans are lazy with their final consonants, and so it really does come out like one "cen," with again that slight...hardness, nasally inclined, and the slightest "t" on the tip of the tongue. Maybe it comes from the French? Maybe I am having trouble hearing differences.

[startracer]

Yeah, I don't hear a difference, either. They've always been homophones to me. I don't think I can put it better than J, here, though.

Of course, north-central speakers generally ARE lazy with certain words... that's why Mary/merry/marry are all the same to me too.

[luolian]

Regional accents play a huge role in how people tackle words too. I know I have certain words that I lengthen ("hair" and "jam" spring to mind) out of habit because I was raised in the South

[irishfire81]

I pronounce the T, but very lightly.

[irishfire81]

I think it's like your "soft B" that you claim to articulate but I could never distinguish.

[clightenbulb]

I'm with irishfire81 - I pronounce the T but very slightly.

[bttrflywriter]

Slight T's for the win!

And if I've talked to ANYONE in my family recently, the 'e' goes all southern and sounds more like "ceyants" and "seyanse."