The Two "th" Sounds /ð/ vs /θ/: American English Pronunciation
If you are reading this lesson, then you know the time has come, the time so many English learners dread: Learning the ‘th’ sounds once and for all! Yes. Plural. The ‘th’ SOUNDSSSSS.
There are TWO ‘th’ Consonant Sounds?!?
You may already know this, but some English learners don’t. It comes as a surprise to many of my students, and they often ask me:
“What’s the rule for when to use the different ‘th’ sounds?”
Unfortunately, like so many questions when it comes to English pronunciation, the answer is: There is no rule.
HOWEVER, I have noticed this little trick that might help you recognize the two ‘th’ sounds. It all comes down to WHICH letter you replace the sounds with if/when you don’t know how or find them difficult to produce.
Here is what I mean:
The voiced ‘th’ sound /ð/, as in the word “mother” /ˈmʌðɚ/ is often replaced with these sounds by non-native speakers (and may even be used in some native dialects):
v - ‘muh-ver’ /ˈmʌvɚ/
d - ‘muh-der’ /ˈmʌdɚ/
z - ‘muh-zer’ /ˈmʌdɚ/
The unvoiced ‘th’ sound /θ/ (also called the voiceless ‘th’ sound), as in the word “moth” /ˈmɑːθ/ or “bath” /ˈbæθ/ is often replaced with these sounds:
f - ‘mof’ /ˈmɑːf/
t - ‘mot’ /ˈmɑːt/
s - ‘mos’ /ˈmɑːs/
Notice anything about these replacement sounds? Are they voiced or unvoiced?
Here’s the trick: The voiced ‘th’ is often replaced with the voiced consonants v, d, and z, while the unvoiced ‘th’ is often replaced with the unvoiced consonants f, t, and s.
So, if you were looking for the magical formula… well Dorothy, click your ruby slippers together because the secret has been with you all along!
You probably already intuitively know the difference, you just didn’t know that you knew what you knew, you know?
So that still leaves us with this burning question:
HOW do you make the ‘th’ sounds?
For that part of this lesson I have this video to demonstrate exactly how to produce the ‘th’ consonants along with example words and sentences to show you how to pronounce them in context:
I hope that after watching this English lesson on how to pronounce the ‘th’ sounds, you have a clearer understanding of the differences between the voiced and unvoiced ‘th’ and are better able to produce those sounds.
For additional practice with the voiced ‘th’ sound, I would also suggest repeating these two tongue twisters/ vocal warm-ups regularly:
“Whether the weather is cold,
Or whether the weather is hot,
We’ll weather the weather,
Whatever the weather,
Whether we like it or not.”
“Red leather, yellow leather”
If you found any part of this lesson confusing or hard to understand, let me know! I’m constantly looking for ways to better teach and explain things, and would love to hear your feedback and questions.
If you’d like to study English fluency and accent reduction online with Monica, (that’s me!) I am always accepting new students. We can do a free 15-minute consultation together to talk about your specific English goals, problem areas, and learning style. Contact me today at: Monica@goalsenglish.com
