"T" and "D" in Indian English

Indian speakers of English tend to curl the tips of their tongues backwards when they make the sound “t” and "d". As a result their “t” and "d" sound a lot harder than the “t” and "d" of native English speakers. The act of curling back the tip of the tongue in the production of such sounds is called retroflexion. People who speak English as a mother tongue do not curl back the tips of their tongues in the production of "t" and "d".

To produce “t” and "d" as a native speaker of English would, one must place the tip of one’s tongue, without curling it backward, on the bony ridge-like projection just above the back of the front upper teeth. This would seal off the airflow through the mouth momentarily. It is important that the oral passage is blocked so that when the closure is released there is an explosion of air from the mouth. The “t” of British and American speakers of English is a voiceless explosive sound. A voiceless sound is one which is produced without audible vibration of the vocal cords. The Indian “t” is also voiceless and explosive, but harder than its native English counterpart on account of the curling back of the tip of the tongue. The tip that is curled back is placed against the palate (the roof of the mouth) effecting a closure of the oral tract. Then air is released with an explosion. The "d" of British and American English is a voiced explosive sound. A voiced sound is one that is produced with audible vibration of the vocal cords. The Indian "d" is also voiced and explosive, but harder than its native English counterpart as a result of the curling back of the tip of the tongue.

Essentially the difference between the “t” and "d" of native English and the Indian equivalents lies not in the manner but in the place of articulation. Both types of sounds are explosive in nature. However the tip of the tongue is placed against the teeth ridge in the production of the native English “t”, while the tip of the tongue is curled back against the hard palate (the hard front portion of the palate as opposed to the soft back portion) in the production of the Indian equivalents.

Samuel Godfrey George