By Olga Smith, 28 April 2020
There are two "th" sounds in English:
1. Voiced as in "that"
2. Unvoiced as in "thanks".
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. It sounds very simple. Why then so many people cannot pronounce the "th" sound correctly. The main reason is that the "th" sound doesn't exist in many languages and that's why many people struggle with it. Below are the main difficulties with the "th" sound for different nationalities:
1. Russians, French and Germans, for example, substitute "th" with "s" or "z" sounds. Instead of "I think" they would say "I sink", and instead of "that is " they would say "zet is". What is the difference between the "th" and "s" and z" sounds? For "s" and "z" the tongue is behind the closed teeth, for the "th" always between the teeth.
2. Indians and Pakistanis, for example, substitute the "th" sound with "t" or "d" sounds, instead of "that" they would say "dat", instead of "I think" they say "I tink". What is the difference between the "th" sound and "t" and "d" sounds?
The "t" and "d" sounds are plosive consonants and in order to create them you need two positions:
The tip of the tongue goes high up and touches the teeth ridge
Then you must drop the tongue and create a little explosion, that's why "t" and "d" sounds are called plosives. The sound is short.
The "th" sound, on the other hand, is a bit longer (it is a fricative consonant). In order to produce it, you must remember to breathe out and have a tiny gap between the teeth and the tongue so that the air can squeeze past. Many people make a mistake and bite their tongue and instead of the "th" we hear "t" or "d" sounds.
In order to master the "th" sound, we recommend that you:
1. Read the list of words starting with the "th" sound very slowly, looking at your mouth in the mirror. Here are a few examples for you: thanks, three, third, thought, thumb, thing, thin
Do you see your tongue between the teeth"? Is there a tiny gap for the air to squeeze past?
2. Other sounds make create an extra difficulty when pronouncing the "th" sound, such as "r" after the "th" as in "three". We recommend that you separate the "th" and then pronounce the rest of the word for a few times, then connect it and pronounce the whole word.
3. Practice lessons 36 and 37 from the apps Get Rid of your Accent UK1, Business English Speech, and Elocution Lessons.
Four things to avoid when pronouncing the "th" sound:
Avoid making a big gap between the teeth, you need to gently touch the tongue with your teeth.
Avoid biting your tongue, because it will not be possible to pronounce the "th".
Avoid putting too much of the tongue out between the teeth as the sound will be incorrect and it will create too much strain for your speech organs.
Avoid breathing in when pronouncing the "th", always breathe out.