Th-stopping

Background
Th-stopping is the realization of the dental fricatives as stops, which occurs in several dialects of English. In some accents, such as Hiberno-English, some varieties of Newfoundland English, some varieties of New York-New Jersey English, and Indian English, they are realized as the dental stops and as such do not merge with the alveolar stops. Thus pairs like tin/thin and den/then are not homophonous (Wells 1982: 428–29, 498, 500, 515). In other accents, such as Caribbean English and Liberian English, such pairs are merged (Wells 1982: 565–66, 635).

For some New Yorkers, the fricatives and  are 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 statusfulness, all are distinct from tanks. The variant has a weakish articulation. the opposition may be lost, exceptionally in the environment of a following  (making three homophonous with tree), and in the case of the word with, (so that with a may rhyme with the nonrhotic pronunciation of "bitter-bidder"; with you may be, following the same yod-coalescence rule as hit you. These pronunciation 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.

In African American Vernacular English, in the words with and nothing, may occur corresponding to standard, thus  for with and  for nothing. (Wolfram 1969:83) 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 mout closed (Wolfram 1969:90). In initial position, occurs in AAVE just as in standard accents: thin is, without the stopping of West Indian accents. (Wolfram 1969:130, does however mention the use of 'a lenis ' as a rare variant.) Stopping of initial, however, is frequent making then homophonous with den.

See also
 * List of Th-stopping homophones
 * Speech sound disorder