/kt

Direct.

Act.

Correct.

Extinct.

Go ahead. Say these words. Say 'em nice and slow, say 'em quickly.

What do they sound like?

A week ago, while idly conversing with my ever-inquisitive mother, I happened to say something that ended in a /kt sound. A-ha! She pounced upon my pronunciation like Gus on a piece of dropped food. "Say it again." So back and forth we went, repeating words ending in /kt. Evidently both she and I, though not my father who I believe was part of the conversation, distinctly (another!) pronounce a K and a T in these words.

I think this is something new for me, but it's totally ingrained in my head and now I can't figure out how the heck else I would say those words.

Mom accused me of becoming "one of them." You know, an upstate New Yorker. I recoiled at the idea, but thought maybe that was true? No, can't be; she's not and she says it. My New Jersey boss says both sounds. But Dad, a Washingtonian, doesn't say it quite as clearly as we do.

And now I'm wondering, is it regional? Could this be construed as part of an accent/dialect? Or are we just over-enunciating?

Does anyone else very clearly say both the K sound and the T sound?

Inquiring minds want to know!

Next week: wine-whine mergers.