The American T is influenced very strongly by intonation and its position in a word or phrase. At the top of a staircase T is pronounced T as in Ted or Italian; a T in the middle of a staircase is pronounced as D [Beddy] [Idaly]; whereas a T at the bottom of a staircase isn't pronounced at all [ho（t）]. Look at Italian and Italy in the examples below. The [t?l] of Italian is at the top of the staircase and is strong: Italian. The [d?] of Italy is in the middle and is weak: Italy.