t-insertions

And now, the long-awaited discussion on t-insertion (or when you stick a t in a word that does not "normally" have a t).

Let me begin by saying that I think a large percentage of you were not entirely truthful in your answers. Or rather, as T-rav will be on the verge of reminding me, perhaps you haven't ever really thought about/examined how you pronounce such specific sounds. Next time I'll have to be sneakier about how I ask my questions if I want really honest answers.

So here's your explanation: many people, when there is a word with an l followed by an s, insert a t in between the two sounds. False, pulse and else are not the only words that may have a t-insertion. I've also heard a t in words such as Danish last names (ex. Nelsen), or the word also, for example.

Here's a summary of my poll results (out of 32):

• 18 do not insert a t (I don't believe many of you- I think more of you do it than you think)
• 14 people insert a t in at least 1 of the words
• If you insert a t in else, you may or may not also insert a t in false
• If you insert a t in false, you almost definitely inserted a t in else
• Only 1 person inserts a t in pulse

There are two main things that interest me about this phenomenon: 1) Else is a more common word for t-insertion and I wonder if it is because of vowel preceding the l. For example, as I mentioned previously, I've heard people t-insert in Nelson or Olsen, but never with Paulsen, which has the same vowel as false. I also wonder if pulse (or Paulsen, for that matter) is less commonly t-inserted because it's a less commonly used word, or if it's because of the vowel. 2) Is this a regional dialect anomaly? Or not? I haven't yet noticed a trend among those around me, but perhaps I'm surrounded by too many Utah/Western English speaking people. Phin, a Utah English speaker, inserts in both false and else; T-rav, a native Idahoan, inserts in else, but not any of the others; my sister, born and raised in NY, schooled in Utah, also inserts in else; ; I, also a New Yorker (upstate, of course!) do not t-insert in any of the options.

In my laziness, I haven't done any real research to see if someone else has the answers to my questions, so if any of you are linguists and can shed some light on this matter, please feel free to do so. Perhaps I'll get around to it in the next couple of weeks..or months.

And like I've said before, please remember that, as with all of my linguistic questions/observations, there is no right or wrong answer. So if you insert a t in between an l and s, don't be ashamed! It's your dialect; be proud of it!