Bu-er, wah-er - Why don't people pronounce their t's? - The way that people talk is continually changing, and increasingly the younger generation seem to drop their t's.

My father was a stickler for the English language and would constantly pick my brother and me up if we didn't speak well. - "Speak the Queen's language", he would bark, and I now find myself wanting to do the same with my own children!

I find modern pronunciation infuriating but why is it happening and did you know that there is actually a name for it? - 'T-glottalization' occurs when a speaker swallows the t rather than saying it out aloud.

Glottalization itself is entirely natural, it occurs as our vocal folds come together to stop the flow of air and then suddenly open again, but this doesn't explain why speakers drop the t.

Dropping t's was always a hallmark of cockney talk. It was part of cockney slang, of their accent, and was broadly accepted by everyone, including my father, but now-a-days more people (especially younger presenters on radio stations) fail to pronounce their t's. - Do they think it sounds cool? Do they even know that they are doing it? Will they grow out of it? Does it mah-er?

I believe that part of the change is down to the influences of YouTube and TikTok, with more of the younger generation picking up on accents, particularly American. The American accent is generally seen as softer than the English one and has developed over time since the earliest settlers, and now is coming back to influence the British.

There have been numerous studies over time into the English language and on accents and nobody can really answer why T-glottalization is happening. Standard pronunciation across regions and countries changes over time and is affected by various reasons. I do find T-glottalization grating, and maybe I will have to get used to it, but for now I'll keep asking the kids to speak the King's language!