Pronounce TH in American English
It’s important to learn how to pronounce th in English because many common words, like mother and father, use these sounds. TH has two sounds, but the mouth position for both sounds is the same. One sound is made using only air, and the other sound is made using your voice.
When you see th in a word, it is difficult to know which sound to make. We’ll talk about this more in the spelling section (coming soon).
Pronounce Unvoiced TH
To make the th sounds, open your lips and teeth a little bit. The tip of your tongue should come between your top and bottom teeth. To make the voiceless th sound, push air through the space above your tongue. There should be a little tension in your lips as you push the air out of your mouth. Put your hand in front of your mouth. You should feel air coming out of your mouth. Try it with me.
This sound may not be common in other languages, but it is easy to learn with practice. Make sure your mouth position is correct, and say these words with me from John chapter 5 in the Bible.
with, something, everything, faith, truth, authority, think
Practice these words with unvoiced TH
Pronounce Voiced TH
The mouth position for voiced th is the same as for unvoiced th. This time, add sound from your vocal cords. If you place your hand on your neck, you should be able to feel your vocal cords vibrate. Practice these words with me:
another, that, the, there, then, they, those, their, this
Practice these words with voiced TH
You can see that many common words use the voiced th sound. It’s important to learn how to correctly say the two sounds of th, so you can pronounce the word you want to say.
What Should I Practice Next?
In the next video, we’ll work on the English l sound. You may have this sound in your language, so it will be easy for you. If you struggle with this sound, you will find tips to help you, with lots of words to practice with. Click the button to go there now.
