What’s Happening to the Pronunciation of the Letter “t” in the US?

Once a stalwart of the English language, a veritable rock among the consonants, the poor letter “t” in recent years has been transforming before my very eyes — well, before my ears, actually. Starting a few years ago with listening to teenagers speak in their natural voices, then hearing the reporting of local Southern Oregon newscasters, who all seem to be under 25 years of age, and now by a popular correspondent on CNN, the mispronunciation of the letter “t” has become ubiquitous.

That poor letter is frequently either used as its own contraction, or is replaced by the letter “d.”

“Seattle” has become “Sea’ ’le.” I haven’t lost a “button” but a “bu’ ’on.” Have you put on weight? Maybe a “li’ ’le.” There’s rain on the valley floor but snow in the “moun’ains.” I include that oft-encountered last one lest you think it only applies to double-t words.

Another form of assault on that noble letter is to replace it with a “d” sound, probably out of shear laziness. “Important” is now likely to be pronounced “impordant.” That’s the example I heard most recently on CNN, uttered by a 35–40 year old correspondent, but I’ve noticed it’s often pronounced that way by public speakers, like politicians. They also drop out whole words from phrases that they must utter every day, like “State of the Union.” That becomes “State o’ Union.” “Constitution of the United States” becomes “Constitution United States.” Not related to the letter “t,” but just an observation.

At first I thought it was cute, a quaint local idiom, like when a rancher gets a quote for a truck repair and says, “that seems kind of spendy.” But no, it’s become more pervasive than that; has anyone else noticed? I mean, I don’t care — care; languages evolve. It’s fine. I’m fine. Everything’s fine!