In American English, and especially here in the New York area, we tend to pronounce things a bit faster and more connected than people do in other parts of the country. Today, I want to show you how we pronounce of when of is used in a noun of noun pattern, and the /t/ sound when it falls in the middle of a word. We’ll get a little help from Billy Joel.
When of is used between nouns, it is generally pronounced like the short /a/ sound as in apartment or /uh/ as in under. For example, the phrase a cup of coffee is pronounced a cup a coffee. Here are a few more examples:
| STANDARD PRONUNCIATION | USUAL PRONUNCIATION |
| a can of beer | a can a beer |
| a bag of chips | a bag a chips |
| a box of cookies | a box a cookies |
| a glass of wine | a glass a wine |
| a piece of cheese | a piece a cheese |
The second point today is the /t/ sound. When the letter t comes in the middle of a word, it is usually pronounced like the /d/ in head or read. For example, the phrase a little cat is pronounced a liddle cat. Here are a few more examples:
| STANDARD PRONUNCIATION | USUAL PRONUNCIATION |
| a small bottle | a small boddle |
| in the attic | in the addic |
| today is a better day | today is a bedder day |
| the hottest day of the year | the hoddest day of the year |
| send a letter | send a ledder |