A Video Summary about th pronunciation
A few explanations about th pronunciation
What is the TH sound?
TH can be confusing, one of the most frequent English pronunciation mistakes is not saying the ‘TH’ sound correctly.
There are two TH sounds in English: | 1. Voiced, as in “that” |
2. Voiceless, as in “thanks” |
How to make the TH sound ?
In order to create the sound, put the tip of the tongue between the top and bottom teeth to allow the air to squeeze past.
This becomes TH.
The main reason is that the ‘th’ sound is difficult for non-native speakers is because doesn’t exist in many languages, therefore many people struggle with it.
So don’t worry you are not alone!
Pronouncing TH
The ‘voiced th‘ /ð/ and ‘voiceless th’ /θ/ sounds are the only pair of English sounds that share a single, common spelling.
The ‘th sounds’ are continuous consonants, meaning that they should be capable of being held for a few seconds with even and smooth pronunciation for the entire duration.
Because the sounds are fricatives, the majority of the sound comes from the friction of the air traveling through a small opening in the vocal tract.
The voiced TH
Voiced TH at the beginning of the word:
|
than the the their them these this those themselves |
Voiced TH in the middle of the word:
|
bathing brother clothing father feather mother together weather |
Voiced TH at the end of a word:
|
bathe breathe loathe scathe seethe teethe |
The voiceless TH
Exercises About TH pronunciation
Exercise 1: Read these TH words and decide if they are voiced or voiceless
Exercise 2: Read these TH words and decide if they are voiced or voiceless
Exercise 3:Read these TH words and decide if they are voiced or voiceless
To go further, take a look at the pronunciation of the vowels a and i and other English pronunciation topics.