TH Sound in American English
Stop Sticking Out Your Tongue
The TH sound is much easier than most students realize. The real problem is usually an exaggerated tongue movement that makes it look and sound unnatural.
How to Make a Clear, Natural TH
1. Power your voice from inside the body
Drive the air up from the diaphragm through the lungs and the pathway of the voice. Don’t try to create the sound only with the mouth.
2. Softly place the tip of the tongue behind the teeth
Very lightly touch the tip of your tongue behind the top and bottom front teeth. You should only see a tiny piece of pink tongue. The contact is soft — not hard or pressed.
This changes the shape of the air so it flows out the sides of the mouth instead of straight down the middle.
Voiced /ð/ vs Voiceless /θ/
Voiced /ð/
Vocal cords vibrate. Softer, buzzing quality.
the, this, that, them, then, though
mother, father, brother, other
together, breathe, breathing
Voiceless /θ/
No vibration. Softer “hissing” quality.
think, thought, three, thirty, thousand
month, birthday, health, length, worth
tooth, truth, breath, bath, death
Useful Practice Sentences
• There’s their brother together with their father.
• Their brother’s birthday is this Thursday.
• How much is it worth? It’s worth thirty thousand dollars.
• The truth is that they have no proof — it’s all just a theory.
• Some people say that Friday the thirteenth is an unlucky day.
• He thought that perhaps his breathing was the problem.
Numbers Practice
3 — three
33 — thirty-three
333 — three hundred thirty-three
3,333 — three thousand three hundred thirty-three
33,333 — thirty-three thousand three hundred thirty-three
333,333 — three hundred thirty-three thousand three hundred thirty-three
3,333,333 — three million three hundred thirty-three thousand three hundred thirty-three
33,333,333 — thirty-three million three hundred thirty-three thousand three hundred thirty-three
333,333,333 — three hundred thirty-three million three hundred thirty-three thousand three hundred thirty-three
3,333,333,333 — three billion three hundred thirty-three million three hundred thirty-three thousand three hundred thirty-three
333,333,333,333,333 — three hundred thirty-three trillion three hundred thirty-three billion three hundred thirty-three million three hundred thirty-three thousand three hundred thirty-three
Practice Tip
Use your phone camera so you can see exactly how much of your tongue is showing. Keep the contact very soft and drive the voice from inside the body. That’s what makes the sound clear and natural when you link words together.
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