Why does flapping (t →ɾ) in American English occur in 'butter' but not in 'tub'?

💡 Explanation

Flapping is blocked in 'tub' because the underlying representation has a word-final /b/, which does not allow the /t/ to be intervocalic. Therefore, the phonological environment for flapping is not met, rather than stress, assimilation, or lexical bias altering the rule.

• Why does variability in handshape articulation in sign language disproportionately affect recognition of certain phonemes over others?
• A signage company's LED display shows uneven word spacing that diminishes legibility. Which mechanism most likely explains this outcome?
• If speakers of a language without relative spatial terms (e.g., 'left' and 'right' are always absolute) must instruct a robot to navigate an obstacle course, which consequence follows?
• Why does a young vervet monkey sometimes issue an 'eagle' alarm call upon seeing a harmless bird, unlike its experienced elders?
• Why does using 'colorless green ideas sleep furiously' as a syntax example fail to fully demonstrate grammatical rules?
• Why does a literary translation prioritizing 'foreignization' over 'domestication' sometimes exhibit awkward phrasing for the target audience?