Hypercorrect Moun[thɨn] in Utah English
Abstract
Abstract This study analyzes unstressed /tən/ in words like button, kitten , and mountain . In Utah, there are three variants: North American mainstream [ʔn̩], forticized [t h ɨn], and local [ʔɨn]. While previous work in Utah has focused on [ʔɨn], I use an auditory analysis of wordlist data from 117 Utahns to show that [t h ɨn] is the majority variant in Utah and is twice as common as in other regions. I argue that fortition is a hypercorrection in response to the stigmatized local variant, [ʔɨn]. This aligns with what other studies have reported about the correctness associated with /t/-release in other phonological environments and appears to be just one instance of a broader process of fortition in Utah English.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Linguistic Variation and Morphology
Phonetics and Phonology Research
Linguistics and language evolution
Publication details
- Journal / source
- English World-Wide A Journal of Varieties of English
- Volume
- 47
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 64–102
- Publication date
- 13 March 2026
- Language
- EN