Hi guys. Welcome back. In this video I'm going to explain in detail how to
pronounce the two TH sounds in English. Hopefully with my explanations and a bit
of practice, you'll be able to pronounce these sounds perfectly. Remember that if
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Now I prefer not to say "the" TH sound, because there are actually two
TH sounds in English, (yay!) which are represented by these two phonetic symbols.
This sound is in words like "think", "teeth" and "thunder". This sound is in words
like "the", "that" and "mother". Many people learning English find these sounds
difficult, so if you find them difficult, don't worry, you are not alone.
It's simply because these sounds don't exist in many other languages. I also know what
it's like to struggle and get frustrated because you can't say specific sounds in
a language. For me that sound was the rolled R in Spanish, and it's similar
to the R in other languages like Italian and Indonesian. It's the "rr", "rr". Perro, perro.
I had to practise it a lot. I think when I was in Spain I practised it
several times a day - sometimes when I was walking in the street and I thought no one
could hear me. And even doing that it still took me many months to kind of be
able to say it. And even now I normally have to concentrate when I say it, and
I know it's not always perfect. So yes, I can feel your pain, but there are some
things in languages that simply require a lot of practice, at least for most people.
Let's first look at this TH sound. This is called the unvoiced TH sound.
It's unvoiced because there's no vibration here. It's just: th, th, th.
So how do we make this sound? Well, the most important thing is the position
of the tongue. The tip of the tongue - so this part here - needs to be between the
top teeth and the bottom teeth. Or just behind the gap between the top teeth and
the bottom teeth. So, like, just behind the teeth. It's actually possible to make
this sound with your tongue in various positions. You can stick your tongue
quite far out like this...
Or you can have it just behind the gap between the teeth like this...
(If you spit a bit when you practise, don't worry, it's normal.)
Or you can have your tongue somewhere between those positions like this...
Normally when we speak, if we stick the tongue out, we don't stick it out very far, because
the tongue needs to be able to move quickly to make other sounds. A way to find a
good position for the tongue is to put your finger on your lips like this...
and then make the sound.
If your tongue touches your finger, then it's probably out too far,
or at least it will probably be difficult for you to speak quickly if
the tongue is out that far. Another key point to remember is that
the top teeth are very important. That's because you are gently pushing against
the top teeth with your tongue. In fact, it's possible (more or less possible) to make
this sound by pushing the tip of your tongue against
the back of your top teeth, like this...
Think, think, think.
I don't recommend doing it that way - to me it feels more difficult and strange -
but it's an option you can try if you want.
As I was saying, you're gently pushing against your top teeth, but you
are allowing air to pass over your tongue. If you put your finger here,
you will notice air going between your tongue and your top teeth. The th sounds
are quite soft or gentle sounds, but when you practise them, I recommend that you
exaggerate them. This is quite a common technique in pronunciation.
You exaggerate something - you overdo it - and then when it becomes easy, you pull back
a bit. You soften it. Interestingly, when I was in high school I went to speech and
drama classes for a while (theatre classes, in other words) and one
of the methods I sometimes used to perform a character that was completely
different to me was to first exaggerate it, and then pull back. The same method
works with pronunciation. So now practise saying these words with me,
but exaggerate them. Really stick your tongue out.
Now let's say the same words, but more naturally.
Now practise saying this sentence after me. So first listen, and then say it.
It's meant to be "cloths", not "clothes".
Now you say it.
I'll put some more sentences like this at the end of the video.
Now we are going to look at the voiced TH sound.
This is the "theh" sound.
Here's the good news, guys!
The voiced TH sound is almost exactly the same as the unvoiced TH sound.
There is just one difference.
Your mouth and your tongue are in the same position as for the unvoiced TH sound,
but if you put your hand on your throat, you will feel vibration: th, th.
Practise saying these words with me. Like before, first we are going to exaggerate the TH.
Now let's do the same, but more naturally.
Now practise this sentence after me.
Now you say it.
Here are some other sentences you can practise with.
These sentences have both the voiced and unvoiced TH.
I hope that helped, guys. If you're still thinking that you will
never be able to do it, remember that for a long time,
that Spanish R just seemed impossible to me.
But little by little, by practising a tiny bit every day, it got better.
You can do it.
See you next time, guys.
Birds!
There's a plane or something...
Ok, start again.