Teruggestoten

Teruggestoten is a term used in the context of the Dutch language and its orthography. It refers to the phenomenon where a word ending in a single 't' is followed by a word beginning with a vowel or 'h'. In such cases, the 't' is often silent, and the two words are pronounced as if they were a single word. This occurs because the 't' in the first word is not pronounced due to the following vowel or 'h' causing a glottal stop.

For example, in the phrase "het is", the 't' in "het" is silent, and the phrase is pronounced as "hes". Similarly, in "het heeft", the 't' in "het" is silent, and the phrase is pronounced as "heeft".

This linguistic phenomenon is a result of the phonetic rules of Dutch and is an important aspect of the language's orthography. It is not a spelling error but rather a natural part of the language's evolution and pronunciation patterns. Understanding teruggestoten is crucial for anyone learning or studying the Dutch language, as it affects the pronunciation of many common phrases and words.