Pronunciation exercise - "Th"

[scorpio2002]

Hi there! This is my first post in here, my name's Donato.

After studying English at school for some years, I realized the pronunciation I was taught is very approximate so I decieded to study it seriously. My aim is to get as close as possible to the standard British RP.

However, I need some feedback from native speakers. At the moment I am practicing with the "th" sound. Can anyone listen to the following list of words and point out the main errors in pronunciation?

http://scorpio2002.altervista.org/ex1_th.mp3

The words are: thin, then, thank, that, think, this, thought, those, thief, these.

Thanks a lot,
Donato

[PROESL]

Originally Posted by scorpio2002

Hi there! This is my first post in here, my name's Donato.

After studying English at school for some years, I realized the pronunciation I was taught is very approximate so I decieded to study it seriously. My aim is to get as close as possible to the standard British RP.

However, I need some feedback from native speakers. At the moment I am practicing with the "th" sound. Can anyone listen to the following list of words and point out the main errors in pronunciation?

http://scorpio2002.altervista.org/ex1_th.mp3

The words are: thin, then, thank, that, think, this, thought, those, thief, these.

Thanks a lot,
Donato

I'm not a British English speaker, but you might find this document helpful. I think the pronunciation of "th" is the same in BrE as it is in AmE.

th voiced and unvoiced.pdf

[PROESL]

Originally Posted by scorpio2002

Hi there! This is my first post in here, my name's Donato.

After studying English at school for some years, I realized the pronunciation I was taught is very approximate so I decieded to study it seriously. My aim is to get as close as possible to the standard British RP.

However, I need some feedback from native speakers. At the moment I am practicing with the "th" sound. Can anyone listen to the following list of words and point out the main errors in pronunciation?

http://scorpio2002.altervista.org/ex1_th.mp3

The words are: thin, then, thank, that, think, this, thought, those, thief, these.

Thanks a lot,
Donato

Your pronunciation of "th" sounds good. However, the vowel sound in "thin" sounds a bit like "ee" - "long e" - and not enough like "i" - "short i".

It would be helpful to compare these two sentences:

She's leaving with him.
She's living with him.

It sounds like you're doing a good job of learning to speak with a British accent. It sounds RP-like to me, but I'm not British. I speak American English, but I easily recognize a British accent when I hear one. In fact, I've asked students on a few occasions if they learned English with British teachers before they came to the U.S. It turns out that I can tell when someone has learned from a British teacher before having come to the U.S.

Keep at it. You're doing well. Maybe a British English speaker will be able to comment here.

[scorpio2002]

Thank you a lot. I will work on the "short i" and "long ee" later on. I'm still trying to get the th right in every place of a word. I find it particularly difficult to pronounce it at the end of a word. Will you listen to the following list of words and point out when something sounds odd:

http://scorpio2002.altervista.org/ex2_th.mp3

growth, tooth, both, wreath, faith, loathe, smooth, clothe, breathe, bathe, mouth.

Thank you again,
Donato

[PROESL]

Originally Posted by scorpio2002

Thank you a lot. I will work on the "short i" and "long ee" later on. I'm still trying to get the th right in every place of a word. I find it particularly difficult to pronounce it at the end of a word. Will you listen to the following list of words and point out when something sounds odd:

http://scorpio2002.altervista.org/ex2_th.mp3

growth, tooth, both, wreath, faith, loathe, smooth, clothe, breathe, bathe, mouth.

Thank you again,
Donato

Your pronunciation of "th" sounds good.

In general, the vowel sounds you produce in these particular words sound, to me, a bit too elongated.

In the word "both", I don't hear the "o" very well. It sounds like some other sort of vowel sound, but I can't identify it.

[scorpio2002]

In the word "both", I don't hear the "o" very well. It sounds like some other sort of vowel sound, but I can't identify it.

Well, I suppose this is because I try to pronounce 'both' this way /bəʊθ/

[Raymott]

Originally Posted by scorpio2002

Well, I suppose this is because I try to pronounce 'both' this way /bəʊθ/

"Both" rhymes with "growth" - the vowel should sound the same (close to your 'growth').
I think you have mastered the /th/.