[Т] или [Д]? [T] or [Д]? 

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Listen to the word again: год. Which sound do you hear at the end of the word - [T] or [Д]? You definitely hear [T]! Why? Because of the magic secret of devoicing! In Russian, many consonant sounds should be memorized in pairs. Think of them as two friends: one likes to speak loudly and make a loud noise with its voice (a voiced consonant) while its best friend prefers to speak softly (a voiceless consonant). The letters Д and T are such friends. [Д] is voiced. [T] is voiceless. When a voiced consonant is the very last sound in the word, it loses its voice and sounds just like its voiceless friend. It's called devoicing. According to the rule of devoicing, when a voiced consonant is the very last sound in the word, it is devoiced (sounds like its voiceless counterpart.) This is why even though we write г о д, when we read this word, it actually sounds like [гот].

You will learn more of these voiced-voiceless pairs later. Meanwhile, think how you would write an algorithm (a rule) for devoicing of the sound [Д]?