How to pronounce th. How to pronounce th sound
In this article, we will finally figure out how to pronounce "th" correctly. The pronunciation of this combination is recognized as one of the most difficult for non-English speakers around the world. Is it really all that complicated?
Not really. We offer you a simple and understandable video, which provides a detailed visual explanation. However, this video is in English, so if you have any difficulties in understanding, below you can just read the article below.
How to pronounce voiced "th"
The first thing you need to know about the "th" sound is that it has two pronunciations - voiced and voiceless. The difference is that when a voiced sound is pronounced, a vibrating sound is obtained. In order to pronounce such a sound, you need to place your tongue between your teeth. If you touch your throat while saying "th", you will definitely feel it vibrate.
For example, voiced "th" can be heard in the words: the, these, that, them.
This sound also occurs in the middle of a word: although another.
Mostly voiced sound is pronounced when "th" is located between two vowels - mother, father, brother and so on.
How to pronounce voiceless "th"
The best example of a voiceless "th" is the English word "three". This sound is less distinguishable than the previous one.
It's funny, but many people pronounce the word "three" as "tree", and Russians especially like to simplify (for some reason) to "free", although these are completely different words in English.
To pronounce a dull sound, you need to be guided by the same principle as for a voiced one: place your tongue between your teeth, but at the same time just silently push the air out of your mouth - there should be no vibration anymore.
Example words - three, thirty, thanks, as well as with the sound "th" at the end - mouth, both, worth, month and so on.
That's all the information about the "hardest" sound "th" for non-English speakers. Is it really difficult for you now? Practice your pronunciation after reading this article. If the video turned out to be difficult to understand by ear, still do not rush to turn it off: listen to how a native English speaker clearly pronounces the voiceless and voiced “th” and demonstrates the difference in sounds.
Unfortunately, in Russian, sounds like [ θ ] , [ ð ] No.
To understand how these sounds are pronounced, the following exercises for the organs of speech will help.
- Stick your tongue between your teeth and blow out the air. Make sure that the tongue is not tense, and the lips do not touch the edges of the tongue.
- Stick your tongue between your teeth and then quickly remove it. Do this exercise several times.
When pronouncing sounds [ θ ] , [ ð ] the tongue is flattened and not tense, the tip of the tongue is between the teeth.
Sound [ θ ] is pronounced as deaf, and the sound [ ð ] with a voice like a sonorous one. Remember that the lips should not touch the edges of the tongue. You should quickly remove your tongue behind your teeth so as not to interfere with the pronunciation of the subsequent sound.
These sounds should not be replaced by Russian [ With ], [ h] or English [ z ] , [ t ] , [ d ] .
Sounds [ θ ] , [ ð ] can be heard in the following English words:
| they [ ei] - They | thick [ θik] - thick |
| them[ ðem] - them | thin [ θin] - thin |
| then[ en] - then | myth[ miθ] - myth |
| this[ Is] - this | tenth[ tenθ] - tenth |
| bathe [ beið] - bathe | Timothy timəθi] - Timothy |
On a letter sounds [ θ ] , [ ð ] are denoted by the letter combination th.
Sound [ ð ] , as a rule, sounds in service words:
- in the definite article the
- in pronouns this , that , they , them
- at the end of words before a letter e: bathe
If the letter combination th is the ending for the formation of ordinal numbers, then it is pronounced as [ θ ] , for example: tenth
note the difference in pronunciation of sounds [ θ ] - [ s ] - [ t ] :
Since there is no sound in Russian [ θ ], then they try to replace it either with the sound [ s] , on either [ t
Sound [ θ ] interdental. When pronouncing it, the tip of the tongue is between the teeth.
Sounds [ t ] , [ s] alveolar. When pronouncing [ t] the tip of the tongue is in contact with the alveoli. When pronouncing [ s] the tip of the tongue rises to the alveoli.
Compare:
| [ feis ] - [ feiθ ] | face - faith | face - faith |
| [ mis ] - [ miθ ] | miss-myth | loss is a myth |
| [ tens ] - [ tenθ ] | tense - tenth | tense - tenth |
| [ tin ] - [ θin ] | tin - thin | tin - thin |
| [ true: ] - [ θru: ] | true-through | truthful - through |
| [ tri: ] - [ θri: ] | tree - three | tree - three |
| [ sik ] - [ θik ] | sick-thick | sick - fat |
Due to the lack of sound [ ð ] in Russian it is often replaced by the sounds [ z ] , [ d] , which leads to a gross violation of the meaning.
Sound [ ð ] voiced interdental consonant. It is pronounced the same as [ θ ] , only with voice.
Sounds [ z ] , [ d] are voiced alveolar consonants.
Compare:
| [ beið ] - [ beis ] | bathe - base | swim - base |
| [ bri:ð ] - [ bri:z ] | breathe-breeze | breathe - light breeze |
| [ si:ð ] - [ si:z ] | seethe-seize | boil - grab |
| [ ei ] - [ dei ] | they - day | they are the day |
| [ en ] - [ den ] | then - den | then - lair |
Introduction
The sound is rightfully considered the king of complexity among English sounds.
In many languages, such a sound does not exist at all, except for Arabic, Greek, Castilian and Swahili.
You and I are also lucky.
We do not have such a letter!
For this reason, it is so difficult for us to pronounce words such as the, this, with ... And therefore we often replace the sound with C, T, Z or D.
And it sounds instead of The - Ze or De; instead of Think - Sink or Tink.
And you, by the way, know that it was not from a good life that the English people began to stick out their tongues, but from a lack of front upper teeth during scurvy. Don't believe? Read the story about the origin of the English sound.
“... scurvy, which was the result of a cold snap, dramatically changed the phonetic picture of Europe. Babies whose teeth fell out before they had time to grow were physically unable to utter dental sounds, and the rest of their speech apparatus was forced to rebuild for a more or less intelligible pronunciation of the simplest words ... The sounds d, t, s, z fell out along with the teeth, and swollen from scurvy of the gums and tongue could not pronounce the contractions of two consonants ... "
That is, if it seems to you that the sound is a lisping S or Z, then you are on the right track.
Try to pronounce the tongue twister “Sasha walked along the highway and sucked dry”, replacing With the sound Th. It should go something like this: “Thla Thаtha by thоthе and thоthala thоthku.”
If there was scurvy in Russia, we would probably talk like that with you.
By the way, the above phrase is convenient to use as an exercise for warming up before classes. Just make sure there are fewer people around.
Who is guilty?
Usually they say - stick your tongue out and Tell «
THIS«
.
But in many countries "IT" is considered indecent!
"Don't show your tongue" our mother says to her child.
Even as adults, people cannot perform this simple action, which is so necessary in the English language.
And here Einstein didn't hesitate to do it. And that means you shouldn't either.
In addition, some especially sophisticated teachers even recommend biting the protruding tongue with your teeth.
What to do or debunking myths?
Well, we have already figured out who is to blame - this is our mentality and the inclinations of some teachers.
And here I would like to quote an excerpt from Mikhail Zadornov about a foreign intelligence agent:
“Right from the construction site, I was taken to English courses, from which I was expelled for poor performance, because the teacher did not understand my pure English pronunciation.
Once he asked me where I studied the language. I honestly admitted - in an English special school.
He replied that he always did not trust English special schools, and it is not at all like me, you need to pronounce the word “The table” according to the latest instructions of the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions.
Now it remains to find out what to do? How to learn to pronounce this sound without spending the rest of your life on it?
After trying to do it myself, looking through a bunch of literature and carefully listening to my own feelings, I came to certain conclusions and found the right ways to quickly solve the problem. According to the comedian: "Having drunk, I judged soberly."
Firstly, it is absolutely not necessary to stick out your tongue for a kilometer - this is a common misconception. Usually 2-3 MILLIMETER is enough, which looks decent enough even with our reserved mentality.
Secondly, the tongue should be pressed against the UPPER TEETH, and not just stick out, which is another common misconception. However, it should be pressed only slightly so as not to block the movement of air. Do you want to stay alive in the end?
Third, the core of this manual is my know-how.
Or maybe How-Know, as Zadornov says :)):
Imagine that the LOWER edge of the TOP teeth…
Ok, I know it sounds complicated, especially after a day at work.
Let's look at the photo.
Ouch!
This kid has no teeth at all!
And scurvy has nothing to do with it.
Then one more try...
OK, this photo is closer to the topic.
Although Keira Knightley looks
a bit like a vampire, but
she obviously did not suffer from scurvy
and she can see well
the same edge of the upper teeth.
So. Imagine what this edge is guitar string
.
And you need SLIGHTLY sticking out the sharp and hard tip of the tongue, pull it on this string. Pull the tip of the tongue from outside to inside. Jinh...
Those who have played the guitar probably know what a plectrum or pick is. So the tip of the tongue performs the same function.
Now it is clear? We pull the tip of the tongue by the edge-string deep into the mouth and slightly up.
Try it. Try it a few times - you'll love it, I promise!
Do you really want to own this? voiced dental fricative consonant
?
Oh sorry! It seems that with this phrase I scared away more than half of the readers.
However, there is no greater half, and this is incredibly comforting ...
Look and listen
my pronunciation explanation sound- the king of the complexity of English sounds
To purchase Lingvo-vitamin sound follow this link.
Related site articles
--------------------
B The majority of Russian-speakers who take up English,
do not realize that Sh is not pronounced the way they think.
Let's say in words Shit or sheet:
Instead of sheet(sheet of paper) they often say ...
1) how voiced, then in the phonetic alphabet we denote it by the symbol [ð]
this sound can be heard in the words: then, this, there, other, smooth
2) or both deaf (unvoiced), which in phonetic transcription will be denoted by the symbol [θ]
this sound can be heard in the words: thin, through, thumb, healthy, author, path
You can read more about phonetic transcription.
General rule when a combination of letters th reads like voiced sound [ð], and when voiceless sound [θ] does not exist, and we simply memorize the words along with their pronunciation.
Pronunciation of sounds [ð] and [θ].
Let's see how to pronounce the sounds [ð] and [θ] correctly. We watch a video of a wonderful teacher of English for foreigners Alex Bellem, where she explains and shows how to pronounce the sounds [ð] and [θ].
In these videos, we will listen to Alex explain in English how to pronounce these sounds, look carefully at her mouth, listen and repeat some words after her where combination of letters th is at the beginning, middle, or end of a word.
| [ð] | [θ] |
|---|---|
Useful games and exercises to help you pronounce the th sound correctly in English.
Many people think that it is very difficult to pronounce sounds corresponding to the combination of letters th in English. Here, apart from jokes, on one very respected linguistic forum I read the following question: “What is the best way to pronounce the word thank you (sank yu or tank yu)?.
Watch the following two videos carefully: If you spend two or three minutes a day to sing a simple song and more a few minutes to repeat some saturated letters th phrases, then I assure you, it will not even occur to you to ask the question with what sound the word begins thanks – why try to say s, f, t when you can just say [θ]!
1. Very useful video from Olga Kozar. Here we will sing a song with sound, we will hear a very emotional and useful (for pronunciation training) phrase “This thing is my thing. Everything is your thing. This is my only thing.” And let's start learning a simple tongue twister: " I thought a thought but the thought I thought was not the thought I thought I thought.”
2. Filochko suggests sweetening the pronunciation exercises [ð] and [θ] with the help of Alenka chocolate. Do you already have chocolate? If not, then run to the store and start practicing the pronunciation of the sounds [ð] and [θ] with Phil and a chocolate bar.
Song-game: English sounds th [ð] and [θ] for young students
With children, you can look at a picture where one clown shows his tongue to another and learn a song
It is very important that while singing: All the kids pretend to be rude clowns and stick out their tongues saying the words this, that and the sound [ð], and when they say the sound [θ], they should stick out their tongues even more.
English sound th [θ] for young students
Click on the picture to listen to the sound th [θ] and play. Press the continue arrow and you will be prompted to find the sound combination th in the words, and if you click on it, you will hear the sound [θ] again and the whole word. Be sure to repeat these words after the speaker. 
What sound [ð] or [θ] did you hear?
Listen to the words and color them according to the sound we heard. Color words with a voiced (voiced) sound [ð] in blue, and with a deaf (unvoiced) sound [θ] - in pink. When all the words are colored, click the Check Answers button
That's all for today about the combination of the letters TH and the pronunciation of the sounds [ð] and [θ].
Stay with us!
Unfortunately, in Russian, sounds like [ θ ] , [ ð ] No.
To understand how these sounds are pronounced, the following exercises for the organs of speech will help.
- Stick your tongue between your teeth and blow out the air. Make sure that the tongue is not tense, and the lips do not touch the edges of the tongue.
- Stick your tongue between your teeth and then quickly remove it. Do this exercise several times.
When pronouncing sounds [ θ ] , [ ð ] the tongue is flattened and not tense, the tip of the tongue is between the teeth.
Sound [ θ ] is pronounced as deaf, and the sound [ ð ] with a voice like a sonorous one. Remember that the lips should not touch the edges of the tongue. You should quickly remove your tongue behind your teeth so as not to interfere with the pronunciation of the subsequent sound.
These sounds should not be replaced by Russian [ With ], [ h] or English [ z ] , [ t ] , [ d ] .
Sounds [ θ ] , [ ð ] can be heard in the following English words:
| they [ ei] - They | thick [ θik] - thick |
| them[ ðem] - them | thin [ θin] - thin |
| then[ en] - then | myth[ miθ] - myth |
| this[ Is] - this | tenth[ tenθ] - tenth |
| bathe [ beið] - bathe | Timothy timəθi] - Timothy |
On a letter sounds [ θ ] , [ ð ] are denoted by the letter combination th.
Sound [ ð ] , as a rule, sounds in service words:
- in the definite article the
- in pronouns this , that , they , them
- at the end of words before a letter e: bathe
If the letter combination th is the ending for the formation of ordinal numbers, then it is pronounced as [ θ ] , for example: tenth
note the difference in pronunciation of sounds [ θ ] - [ s ] - [ t ] :
Since there is no sound in Russian [ θ ], then they try to replace it either with the sound [ s] , on either [ t
Sound [ θ ] interdental. When pronouncing it, the tip of the tongue is between the teeth.
Sounds [ t ] , [ s] alveolar. When pronouncing [ t] the tip of the tongue is in contact with the alveoli. When pronouncing [ s] the tip of the tongue rises to the alveoli.
Compare:
| [ feis ] - [ feiθ ] | face - faith | face - faith |
| [ mis ] - [ miθ ] | miss-myth | loss is a myth |
| [ tens ] - [ tenθ ] | tense - tenth | tense - tenth |
| [ tin ] - [ θin ] | tin - thin | tin - thin |
| [ true: ] - [ θru: ] | true-through | truthful - through |
| [ tri: ] - [ θri: ] | tree - three | tree - three |
| [ sik ] - [ θik ] | sick-thick | sick - fat |
Due to the lack of sound [ ð ] in Russian it is often replaced by the sounds [ z ] , [ d] , which leads to a gross violation of the meaning.
Sound [ ð ] voiced interdental consonant. It is pronounced the same as [ θ ] , only with voice.
Sounds [ z ] , [ d] are voiced alveolar consonants.
Compare:
| [ beið ] - [ beis ] | bathe - base | swim - base |
| [ bri:ð ] - [ bri:z ] | breathe-breeze | breathe - light breeze |
| [ si:ð ] - [ si:z ] | seethe-seize | boil - grab |
| [ ei ] - [ dei ] | they - day | they are the day |
| [ en ] - [ den ] | then - den | then - lair |