Th-stopping

Th-stopping is the realization of the dental fricatives as stops—either dental or alveolar—which occurs in several dialects of English. In some accents, such as of Indian English and middle- or upper-class Irish English, they are realized as the dental stops and as such do not merge with the alveolar stops ; thus, for example, tin is not a homophone of thin. In other accents, such as varieties of Caribbean English, Nigerian English, Liberian English, and older, rural, or working-class Irish English, such pairs are indeed merged. Variation between both dental and alveolar forms exists in much of the working-class English speech of North America and sometimes southern England. It is also common for babies and toddlers, who are still learning to talk and/or have not fully grown their front teeth capable of producing the th sound. Th-stopping occurred in all continental Germanic languages, resulting in cognates such as German die for "the" and Bruder for "brother".

New York City English

For the working class of New York City and its surrounding region, the fricatives and are often pronounced as affricatives or stops, rather than as fricatives. Usually they remain dental, so that the oppositions and are not lost. Thus thanks may be pronounced,, or in decreasing order of occurrence; all are distinct from tanks. The variant has a weakish articulation. The opposition may be lost, exceptionally in the environment of a following, and in the case of the word with, (so that with a may rhyme with the non-rhotic pronunciation of bitter-bidder; with you may be, following the same yod-coalescence rule as hit you. These pronunciations are all stigmatized.
The opposition seems to be lost more readily, though not as readily as the "Brooklynese" stereotype might lead one to believe. As in many other places, initial is subject to assimilation or deletion in a range of environments in relatively informal and/or popular speech, e.g. who's there ; as in many other places, it is also subject to stopping there. This option extends to one or two words in which the is not initial, e.g. other, which can thus become a homonym of utter-udder. But it would not be usual for southern to be pronounced identically with sudden or breathe with breed.

African-American Vernacular English

In African-American Vernacular English, in the words with and nothing, may occur corresponding to standard, with the itself being succeeded by the t-glottalization rule: thus for with and for nothing. Th-stopping is also reported for some other non-initial s, apparently particularly when preceded by a nasal and followed by a plosive, as keep your mouth closed. In initial position, occurs in AAVE just as in standard accents: thin is, without the stopping of West Indian accents. Stopping of initial, however, is frequent, making then pronounced as or sometimes homophonous with den.

Frequency in other accents

Th-stopping is also commonly heard, specifically from speakers of working-class origins, in the American English dialects of the Inland North, the Upper Midwest, and the Mid-Atlantic region. It is also heard in a minority of speakers of England's Estuary dialect, but only in the case of word-initial. Many speakers of Philippine English and some speakers of other variants in Asia also have th-stopping.
The dialect of Sheffield in England is sometimes referred to as "dee-dar" because of the th-stopping to change initial to. However, a 1997 study in Sheffield found this was then largely confined to older males.
In certain international radiotelecommunications such as the NATO phonetic alphabet, the digit code words three and thousand are pronounced and to avoid mispronouncing them as and.

Homophonous pairs

		IPA	Notes
ate	eighth		Some accents pronounce ate as
Bart	bath		Non-rhotic accents with trap–''bath split.
bat	bath		Without trap–bath split.
bayed	bathe		-
bet	Beth		-
bladder	blather		-
blight	Blythe		-
blitter	blither		With intervocalic alveolar flapping.
boat	both		-
body	bothy		Without lot–cloth split and with intervocalic alveolar flapping.
boot	booth		-
breed	breathe		-
Brett	breath		-
brought	broth		With lot–cloth split. Also in some accents.
cedar	seether		-
cent	synth		With pin–pen merger.
cite	scythe		-
clot	cloth		Without cot–caught merger.
coot	couth		-
D; dee	the		The before vowels and silent H.
D; dee	thee		-
Dan	than		-
dare	their		-
dare	there		-
dare	they're		-
Darude	the rude		-
day	they		-
debt	death		-
Dee	the		The before vowels and silent H.
Dee	thee		-
den	then		-
dense	thence		-
dents	thence		-
dhow	thou		-
die	thy		-
dine	thine		-
dirt	dearth		with fern–fir–fur merger.
dis	this		-
doe	though		-
does	those		-
dough	though		-
dow	thou		-
dow	though		-
drought	drouth		-
dye	thy		-
eater	either		With intervocalic alveolar flapping.
eater	ether		With intervocalic alveolar flapping.
eight	eighth		-
Ent	nth		-
fate	faith		-
fetter	feather		With intervocalic alveolar flapping.
fit	fifth		Some accents pronounce fifth as.
fodder	father		With father–bother merger.
fort	forth		-
fort	fourth		-
fraught	froth		With lot–cloth split.
frot	froth		Without lot–cloth split.
got	goth, Goth		-
groat	growth		-
hart	hearth		-
hat	hath		-
header	heather		-
heart	hearth		-
heat	heath		-
hitter	hither		With intervocalic alveolar flapping.
hurt	earth		With H-dropping and fern–fir–fur merger.
Ida	either		Non-rhotic accents.
knead	neath		-
kneader	neither		-
kneed	neath		-
ladder	lather		-
lade	lathe		-
laid	lathe		-
latter	lather		With intervocalic alveolar flapping.
letter	leather		With intervocalic alveolar flapping.
lied	lithe		-
load	loathe		-
lode	loathe		-
loud	Louth		-
martyr	Martha		Non-rhotic accents.
mat	math		-
matte	math		-
mead	Meath		-
meat	Meath		-
meet	Meath		-
met	meth		-
mete	Meath		-
mitt	myth		-
motte	moth		-
mutter	mother		With intervocalic alveolar flapping.
naught	north		Non-rhotic accents.
neater	neither		With intervocalic alveolar flapping. Some accents pronounce neither as.
neat	neath		-
need	neath		-
oat	oath		-
oats	oaths		-
odes	oaths		-
pads	paths		Without trap–bath split.
paid	pathe		-
part	path		Non-rhotic accents with trap–bath split.
parts	paths		Non-rhotic accents with trap–bath split.
pat	path		Without trap–bath split.
pats	paths		Without trap–bath split.
pit	pith		-
pity	pithy		-
rat	wrath		Without trap–bath split.
rate	wraith		-
read	wreathe		-
reads	wreathes		-
reads	wreaths		-
reed	wreathe		-
reeds	wreathes		-
reeds	wreaths		-
ride	writhe		-
rot	Roth		Without lot–cloth split.
root	ruth, Ruth		With yod-dropping. Some accents pronounce root as.
route	ruth, Ruth		With yod-dropping. Some accents pronounce route as.
scent	synth		With pen–pin merger.
seed	seethe		-
seeder	seether		-
sent	synth		With pen–pin merger.
set	saith		-
set	Seth		-
she'd	sheathe		-
sheet	sheath		-
side	scythe		-
sight	scythe		-
sit	Sith		-
site	scythe		-
smit	smith		-
smite	Smyth		-
spilt	spilth		-
soot	sooth		Some accents pronounce soot as.
sudden	southern		Non-rhotic accents.
sued	soothe		With yod-dropping.
suede	swathe		Some accents pronounce swathe as.
suit	sooth		With yod-dropping.
swat	swath		Without lot–cloth split.
swayed	swathe		Some accents pronounce swathe as.
tank	thank		-
tater	theta		Non-rhotic accents. Some accents pronounce theta as.
taught	thought		-
team	theme		-
teary	theory		-
teat	teeth		-
teed	teethe		-
teeter	theta		Non-rhotic accents. Some accents pronounce theta as.
tent	tenth		-
Thai	thigh		-
tic	thick		-
tick	thick		-
ticket	thicket		-
tide	tithe		-
tie	thigh		-
tied	tithe		-
tin	thin		-
tinker	thinker		-
toot	tooth		-
tor	thaw		Non-rhotic accents.
tor	Thor		-
tore	thaw		Non-rhotic accents with horse–hoarse merger.
tore	Thor		With horse–hoarse merger.
torn	thorn		With horse–hoarse merger.
tort	thought		Non-rhotic accents.
tote	Thoth		-
trash	thrash		-
trawl	thrall		-
tread	thread		-
tree	three		-
trill	thrill		-
true	threw		-
true	through		With yod-dropping.
trust	thrust		-
tum	thumb		-
tump	thump		-
turd	third		With fern–fir–fur merger.
udder	other		-
utter	other		With intervocalic alveolar flapping.
Utes	youths		-
welt	wealth		-
wetter	weather		With intervocalic alveolar flapping.
wit	width		-
wit	with		-
wordy	worthy		-
wort	worth		Some accents pronounce wort as.
wrought	Roth		With lot–cloth split.
wrought	wroth		With lot–cloth'' split.