>American English >Say "Can" when you actually mean "Can't"
I can't take this anymore, why can't Americans say can't properly? This is getting out of control, I really embarrassed myself when I thought a girl said "You can kiss me" but she actually apparently said "You can't kiss me"
word "not" matters a lot, so I wonder why they came up with such a bad idea to abbreviate only one syllable for it.
Hudson Moore
You don't know how to speak English. In the affirmative, the pronunciation is like KEN. In the negative, the vowel is pronounced differently, like the noun CAN,the food container. Also, in the affirmative, the verb that follows has stronger intonation but inthe negative, you stress the word CAN'T.
Jaxon Roberts
Gonna be honest, I NEVER noticed this before.
Ayden Martin
No, it isn't.
Parker Allen
>could care less >could care less >could care less >could care less
How the fuck are they allowed to get away with this drivel? If there was ever a case for the nuclear holocaust of America this is it
Jayden Miller
Don't forget the accursed >would of
Austin Robinson
It is in American English. The ecception is if it is the last word in the sentence.
Can you go? pronounced KEN Yes, I can. Pronounced CAN
Andrew Hernandez
It is though. Do you pronounce can and can't the exact same except with a t on the end? Not even British accents can be that absurd
Charles Russell
Actually nevermind, I misread the post
How embarrassing
Jack Johnson
Exception I'm on my mobile.
Brody Lewis
if you just fucking paid attention it would be fine we dont complete terminal plosives; for "can't" we say "can" then lift our tongue to start the "t" but dont force it down again. it forms a very specific halting sound which americans can easily recognize
Liam Myers
A lot of American dialects drop t's or replace them with the "d" sound. It's the same as how some folks say "inner-net" instead of "in-ter-net".
Depends on the dialect of the speaker. I would pronounce it identically in both examples.
Do you mean woulda? I ain't never heard no one say "would of".
James Morris
We don't say can when we mean can't we just replace the t sound with a glottal stop.
Jaxon Wilson
Holy fuck I never noticed this.
Julian Lopez
It's charming and it's also our culture which you yuros always falsely accuse us of not having
Hudson Murphy
Each anglo country uses different vowel sounds for different words, aussies vocalise ken to my ear for both those examples. You also pick it up without thinking very easy as its not a new word but a slight change, I went down under for several months and picked up a slight perth accent, i couldnt hear it when speaking but australians would comment on it. it dropped after being in the uk a few days, we imitate to some extent our environment.
Joseph Howard
>we imitate to some extent our environment
This. I caught myself turning "th" into "t" after staying in Ireland for a while.
Nolan Rogers
Cannot you fucking barbarians.
Can't is not a word.
Julian Long
Vowel sounds are actually one of the most fluid parts of the English language, apparently.
Liam Edwards
What? We say "can't" and "can" completely differently. Have you been talking to Cajuns, lad?
Dylan Scott
Depending on the accent:
Can will be pronounced Ken or Kaen, sometimes both depending on the stress. Can't will be pronounced Kaent, or sometimes Kent depending on the accent, but in both cases the t is practically or actually dropped, leading to them to sound very similar in many accents in America.
It's actually a big problem foreigners have in understanding American English, and sometimes native speakers too. Haven't you ever had someone ask you something like "Did you say you CAN do it or you caeeeen't do it?"
Owen Turner
>it's a doggy dog world
Logan Morales
Neither is "Cannot", hillbilly
Aiden Morgan
sorry, probably wasn't speaking the language you could understand: Ayoop, me yob sook - "cannot" ay't e wor, yer fithy yokel
Evan Howard
Christ, if only I knew that it will only take one brit-loving not-that-much-of-a-russian to make entire thread feel deeply reserved, I'd keep my pie hole shut.
I'm sorry, Britain - come back! >EU mode enabled
Jackson Martinez
>in both cases the t is practically or actually dropped, leading to them to sound very similar in many accents in America. Not true at all, and I've been to at least a third of the US states. The "t" in can't is pretty clearly said. >It's actually a big problem foreigners have in understanding American English Maybe because they're not native speakers and have trouble following fast sentences. >and sometimes native speakers too Calling bull on this one. >Haven't you ever had someone ask you something like "Did you say you CAN do it or you caeeeen't do it?" No, not really. At least I can't think of ever having to ask or answer this question (in the South, New England, New Mexico, the Midwest, New Orleans, or even Canada).
>Not true at all, and I've been to at least a third of the US states. The "t" in can't is pretty clearly said.
No, in most casual speech in General American, the t is glottalized if occurring before another word that begins with a consonant. Of course this all varies heavily from speaker to speaker but the general trend is for this to occur, which effectively means the t is dropped, though the reality is it's replaced by a slight stop that to an English speaker's ear is easy to pick up, but a foreigner will have a lot more trouble picking up.
Its not culture, its bunch of ape niggers who don't know how to even speak their native language.
Brayden Foster
Oh, you mean like "I can't take out the trash." Yeah, if the next word starts with a "t" then the "t" in "can't" is merged, but there's never confusion since you would pronounce it like "I KANt take out the trash," rather than "I KEN take out the trash." Also, it's not for all words starting with consonants, only words starting with "t". You would pronounce the "t" in "I can't make you a sandwich," very clearly in fact.
Daniel Mitchell
I'm doing my part to turn things around. I'm sorry it wasn't soon enough
Benjamin Williams
It's shortened. Originally the phrase also included "but not much". Now the second bit is implicit.
Ethan Hall
Don't you mean would've?
Logan Johnson
Spoiling you everyday language with a dialect where one cannot even know which is yes or no isn't culture. Reminder that it has your set your countryman in trouble.