Learn how to pronounce the consonant sound /θ/ used in words like "theater," "south," or "bathroom."
Improve your American accent with two phonetic exercises recorded by a professional speech therapist.
Practice pronunciation of the /θ/ consonant sound in commonly used words.
Check if you can find a surprise bonus at the end of the video!
Learn more here: soundsamerican.net/
Quick links:
• Consonant sound /θ/, as in "think:" 00:00
• How to make the /θ/ sound: 01:06
• Most common mistakes with the /θ/ sound: 02:05
• Pronunciation exercise 1: 03:26
• Pronunciation exercise 2: 05:24
• Most common spelling for the /θ/ sound: 06:33
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#AmericanPronunciation #ConsonantSounds #FricativeSounds
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► Consonant Sound /θ/ as in "think" - this video
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[ THIS VIDEO HAS ENGLISH, SPANISH, JAPANESE, CHINESE, VIETNAMESE, KOREAN, PORTUGUESE, AND RUSSIAN SUBTITLES]
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TRANSCRIPT
Hello there! This is the "Sounds American" channel.
In this video, we're going to talk about the American consonant sound /θ/, as in the word "think." You can also hear this sound in words like "thank," "bath," "author" or "three."
We'll be using a special phonetic symbol - /θ/ - for this sound.
The English /θ/ sound occurs in very few world languages, so it's unfamiliar to the majority of non-native speakers. Many non-native speakers often distort it or replace it with more familiar sounds, such as /s/, /t/, or /f/.
Fortunately, this sound is not that hard to make. Once you learn how to do it, it's just a matter of practice.
So, let's find out how to make the /θ/ sound.
This sound is all about the tip of your tongue.
Slightly open your mouth and put the tip of your tongue between your front teeth.
Note that the tip of your tongue may gently touch the bottom of your upper front teeth.
Now blow air over your tongue making noise with friction. The stream of air should flow between your upper teeth and your tongue.
Note that the /θ/ is a voiceless fricative sound.
This means that it's made from friction in the stream of air, but not with your voice.
Let's try saying it: /θ/, /θ/, /θ/.
Here are a few typical mistakes that people make when pronouncing the /θ/ sound:
1. Keeping the mouth closed or "biting" the bottom lip. The /θ/ gets distorted and sounds more like the /f/.
- Make sure your mouth is slightly open and that your upper teeth don't touch your lower lip.
2. Not pushing the tongue forward enough or pressing the tongue against the upper front teeth. This way you'll make a sound in between the /s/, /z/, and the /θ/.
- Put the tip of your tongue between your upper and bottom front teeth.
3. Stopping the airflow with the tip of the tongue. The /θ/ sound gets distorted and sounds more like /t/ or /d/.
- /θ/ is a continuous sound; so keep the airstream flowing. You should be able to stretch the /θ/ out: /θ-θ-θ- θ/.
Now, let's practice the /θ/ sound in some words.
You'll see a word on the screen and hear its pronunciation. Like this. You'll have a few seconds to pronounce the word. To achieve the best results, repeat each word after the speaker and try to practice as many words as possible.
Let's begin.
[Pronunciation exercise]
• birth
• both
• cloth
• death
• depth
• earth
• faith
• fifth
• forth
• math
• moth
• mouth
• ninth
• north
• teeth
[Pronunciation exercise]
• tenth
• thank
• theft
• theme
• thick
• thief
• thin
• thing
• think
• third
• thorn
• three
• threw
• throw
Did you know that the combination of the letters "th" may actually represent two sounds:
the voiceless consonant sound /θ/, as in the word "think,"
and the voiced consonant sound /ð/, as in the word "this"?
Here's how you can check which sound to use:
"th" sounds as /θ/ at the beginning or at the end of the stem of content words. For example, "theater," or "health."
"th" sounds as /ð/ at the beginning of function words. For example, "this." Or between vowels in content words, for example, "breathe."