Can - Can't

Hi,
would you notice the difference between the answers in this conversation?

- Can I move my home path to another partition without formatting?
- I think you can. / I think you can't.

I can distinguish between can and can't when can is not stressed (so it's "kun"), but I think there's no way to distinguish them when they are both stressed. I still remember when Ann Cook, in American Accent Training, said: "Now we are going to learn the difference between CAN and CAN." LOL
My tendency is to release the T a little when I want to avoid being ambiguous, so:
I think you can't. - slight t at the end.
No, you can't. - Unreleased t, glottal stop, call it what you want.
You can't see it. - My tongue doesn't even try to do any kind of T

What's your opinion? Thank you in advance

Alienvoord wrote:

In "I think you can. / I think you can't" the "can" is stressed so it is /k{n/, and it could be confused for "can't."

Yeah, that's what I was referring to. I know the difference when "can" is not stressed, but the problem should be considered when "can" is stressed, making it sound practically the same as "can't".

This is a particularly rough one!

can has just an n (of course), but it's a full n.  can't has an n that is terminated abruptly by an unreleased t (and it may even include a glottal stop for some speakers) which gives the impression of the beginning of a t (but not the end).  Even the a seems shorter in can't than in can.

Releasing the t to avoid ambiguity is fine, but that's unnecessary if you cut off the n just right.  (Easier said than done, right? )

don't and won't have the same termination, but there's no chance of ambiguity there (no word don or won with nearly the same pronunciation).

CJ

P.S.  In can't see it, you should have your Italian zz (English ts).  I canzzi it (where zzi is Italian!).  But between n and s a sycophantic t will almost automatically appear anyway, just because of how the articulatory organs have to move to produce that transition.

P.S.  The example you use in the set-up could be better.  We'd more likely say these (raising the negation into the main clause):

I think you can.  I don't think you can.

But no matter -- I get your point. 

Tip for struggling students (before you throw in the towel ).

There is a very simple way of avoiding any possible confusion between 'can' and 'can't':

just pronounce them [] and [], respectively.

So, am I comprehensible?