have a little problem with 3

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tomasa

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Hi,
I pretend to be very good at speaking English and sometimes people really appreciate my efforts to sound like a native speaker. Here is the problem - when i try to say 3, 33 or a word such as TRUTH is sounds like i have an orange in my mouth. Can i fix this somehow or should consult with a specialist?
 

birdeen's call

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I had this problem myself and I have overcome it without consulting a logopedist. At first I had trouble pronouncing even the word "tree", because the approximant /ɹ/ wouldn't work with the stop /t/. "Three" was even more difficult, because I wasn't used to the sound /θ/. I'd say that orange in mouth is a great metaphor here. This was exactly my feeling.

As I said, I don't have this problem now -- it's possible to overcome. Unfortunately, I'm not a specialist myself and it's difficult for me to give you any specific advice. Have you tried placing a schwa between [θ] and [ɹ], and then making it shorter and shorter? I think this could be the synthesis of how I solved my problem. I'm not sure though.

Do you have any trouble pronouncing the word "rarer"?

Please capitalize the word "I".
 

5jj

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Have you tried placing a schwa between [θ] and [ɹ], and then making it shorter and shorter? I think this could be the synthesis of how I solved my problem.
That sounds to me like a good idea when the first sound is /θ/, but I don't think it's so helpful when the first sound is /t/. I think /tr/ is far more of a blend.

It might help if you start the /t/ of the /tr/ blend with the tongue farther back in the mouth than normal. When /t/ comes before a vowel, the tip of the tongue touches the hard ridge on the roof of the mouth just behind the front teeth. In the /tr/ blend, try to start with the tip of the tongue much farther back, behind the hard ridge. This means that it is closer to where it is for /r/. Say 'Ruth'. Then touch the roof of your mouth with the tip of your tongue at the closest point you can to where the tongue was for the /r/ of 'Ruth'. Now try to say 'truth'.
 

DontBanMe

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well, I've no that kind of problem with the word *three* but somehow when i pronounce three, the th sound is quite obvious. It's different from most of the native speaker. Same goes for the word *through* .Some pronounce sort of like fru (David Archuleta sing sort of like fru in one of his song, Have yourself a merry christmas) ( Please pay attention when he sing the words *through this* )(I pronounce in that way).n some pronounce like thru..( a sound i can hardly make, like there's no th sound. Is it because they pronounce too fast?)! People still understand me, though.:)
 

DontBanMe

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Hi,
I pretend to be very good at speaking English and sometimes people really appreciate my efforts to sound like a native speaker. Here is the problem - when i try to say 3, 33 or a word such as TRUTH is sounds like i have an orange in my mouth. Can i fix this somehow or should consult with a specialist?

I suppose you know where we pronounce the th sound,right?
in the word three,we pronounce it as th r i:
so, I don't really see what your problem is.
But, I would like to help.:)
First, to make the /θ/ sound, place your tongue between the upper front teeth and bottom front teeth. They are as known as cutting edge
then, make the /θ/ sound. Next, to make the /r/ sound, I have a different way. I learnt it from youtube. I was told to make the er sound without touching your roof of your mouth or any part in your mouth. you should purse your lips to make the sound properly. That's how American R sound made! (PS: the R sound we make at the beginning word is different from the end of the word like right ( /raɪt/ ) and car ( /kɑər/ ) Next, let's look at /i:/ sound, you look like you're smiling when you make the long e sound.:)( Well, you get many SMILIES on the right side of this message box while you're editing or replying , you should look like the first smiley.) I Hope this helps! Please correct me if I'm wrong. I'm just trying to help!
 
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