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Pronunciation TH
Th Here are my pronunciation TH word lists and exercises. I wouldn't spend more than 15 minutes in a lesson doing these drills with the students, as that could become very tedious and tiresome. You will find a free downloadable printout for the students at the bottom of this page. This is how I would structure this lesson:
demonstrate how the words are pronounced by reading a line, set of words, or sentence get the students to repeat repeat until you have finished the words and sentences for that particular sound get the students to each write 5 sentences of their own, using the vocabulary from the the 'Words' section. They have to include as many of the words as possible in each sentence they have to read out their sentences, paying special attention to the pronunciation and intonation
This is how you can differentiate whether the TH is voiced or not. Place your hand on your throat. When you say the voiced TH, your throat will vibrate. When you say a voiceless TH, it will not vibrate.
Voiceless TH /θ/ Words
thank, thick, thief, thin, think, thing, three, thousand, Thursday, thirty-eight, thunderstorm athlete, author, nothing, toothache, wealthy, everything, worthwhile, anything bath, earth, teeth, cloth, north, myth, mouth, youth, faith, underneath Sentences
He thanked the wealthy author on Thursday for the third time. The athlete ran three thousand metres to the north. It is a myth that when you are thirty-three you have lost your youth. There is nothing worthwhile in a thunderstorm. I think the thin thief ran north with the cloth underneath his arm.
Get the students to write their own sentences with the words, and read them out loud.
Voiced TH /ð/ Words
that, than, the, their, then, there's, they, they'd, they'll, they've, this, those, themselves, therefore mother, other, bother, brother, breathing, clothing, father, feather, gathering, lather, other, rather, soothing, weather, worthy, brotherly, together Sentences
Their mother was gathering the clothes together. They’ve had a lot of bother with the weather. They’d rather gather those berries with their mother. There’s their brother, together with their father. Therefore they’d rather go together.
Now get the students to write their own sentences with the words to practice their pronunciation TH.
Pronunciation TH - Mixed Voiced and Voiceless
There’s the wealthy author whose brother has toothache. The weather from the north on Thursdays is soothing. They have nothing other than each other, the weather, and their youth. Those thirty-eight thieves were brothers. They’d rather have a bath with their clothing on.
TH Consonant Sounds ð (the, father, them) θ (think, birthday, south) English Pronunciation, Lesson 30 Previous Lesson | List of Lessons | Next Lesson In English, the TH consonant sounds are studied together because they share the same spelling and are made in the same part of the mouth. There are two TH consonant sounds. One is voiced, and the other is unvoiced. In this lesson, you will learn and practice the differences between these two English sounds.
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How to pronounce the TH consonant sounds The TH consonant sounds are the only pair of sounds in English that share the same spelling. They also take the same mouth shape. The voiceless (unvoiced) TH sound (IPA symbol: θ) can be found in English words such as think, thing, teeth, birthday, bath, and both. The voiced TH sound (IPA symbol: ð) can be found in English words such as the, them, those, father, together, brother, and breathe.
Voiced and voiceless sounds What are voiced and voiceless sounds? Let's review. In the English language, we use many voiced sounds. That means that the vocal cords vibrate to make the sound.
These are some of the voiced sounds in English:
V sound
D sound
Z sound
G sound
J sound
When a sound is voiceless or unvoiced, the vocal cords do not vibrate when you make the sound. Instead, you release air out of your mouth to make the sound. These are some of the voiceless sounds in English:
F sound
H sound
T sound
S sound
K sound
CH sound
To make the voiced and unvoiced TH sounds, place the tip of your tongue between your top and bottom teeth. It should not stick out very far. Then blow air through the space between your tongue and your top teeth. You also blow air through the top teeth. This makes the unvoiced TH sound (IPAsymbol: θ). It is a natural sound. When you add your voice, you make the voiced TH sound (IPA symbol: ð). It is a buzzing sound similar to the Z sound but with a different tongue position. Sometimes your tongue will not stick through your top and bottom teeth to make the voiced TH sound. When linking words together,your tongue is sometimes placed right
behind your top teeth. Let's practice these two sounds with Rachel from Rachel's English:
Have you watched the video? Good! Let's practice a few more words.
Let's practice! Because the voiced and voiceless TH sounds share the exact same spelling, it is difficult to know how to pronounce new words that have the TH spelling. There are more words in English with the voiceless TH sound than the voiced TH sound. You should use a dictionary or online pronunciation guide to learn the pronunciation of new vocabulary words.
Practice the voiceless TH sound: θ Practice the voiceless TH sound by saying these words aloud. Remember that this TH sound is not voiced. Your vocal cords do not vibrate when you make this sound. Make sure you are only using air to make the sound. Voiceless TH at the beginning of a word:
think
thin
thing
thanks
thirty
Thursday
three
thumb
third
thirteen
Voiceless TH in the middle of a word:
bathtub
toothpick
birthday
healthy
something
anything
athlete
Voiceless TH at the end of a word:
math
tooth
teeth
tenth
ninth
fifth
breath
earth
mouth
south
north
Practice the voiced TH sound: ð Now, let's practice the voiced TH sound. Remember to use air and your voice to make this buzzing sound. Voiced TH at the beginning of a word:
The voiced TH sound is common in English pronouns and demonstratives.
that
this
them
the
their
there
they're
those
they
these
Voiced TH in the middle of a word:
feather
weather
father
brother
mother
clothing
clothes
either
other
another
Voiced TH at the end of a word:
breathe
bathe
smooth
Finally, practice the sounds side-by-side Remember to voice the words in the green boxes and use only air for the words in the blue boxes!
θ
ð
voiceless TH
voiced TH
thin
then
think
these
third
them
Thanks
either
birthday
brother
bathtub
clothing
healthy
worthy
math
smooth
breath
breathe
Now say these sentences out loud. The voiceless TH sounds are in blue. Use only air to make these sounds. The voiced TH sounds are in green. Use air and your voice to make these buzzing sounds. 1) I think it is Thursday. 2) It is his thirteenth birthday today. 3) You can clean your teeth with a thin toothpick. 4) They should ask their father or their mother. 5) The other clothes are new.
6) There is another feather over there. 7) That thing is bigger than that other thing. 8) Those three boys will be three this Thursday, October ninth. 9) There is something in that dog's mouth. 10) My brother said the weather is warmer in the south than in the north.
