How do you pronounce this word?

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harrymick

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Nov 23, 2004
Dear sir:

I was wondering How you pronounce 'clothes', if you will bite your tongue's top for pronouncing the 'th' before the 'es'. or you won't pronounce the 'es'?
 

Tdol

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Some people do drop the 'th' sound, but if you move your tongue fast enough back, it does work. ;-)
 

Casiopea

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harrymick said:
Dear sir:

I was wondering How you pronounce 'clothes', if you will bite your tongue's top for pronouncing the 'th' before the 'es'. or you won't pronounce the 'es'?
I agree. :-D clothes and close, as in Please, close the door, are pronounced the same:

I have new clothes [klo:z].
Please, close [klo:z] the door.

(Note, close, as in We are very close friends, is pronounced with an , not [z]: close [klo:s])

Some people pronounce 'th' as [l], like this:

clothes [klo:lz]

Some people pronounce 'th' as a voiced sound, like in the word that:

clothes [klo:]th[z].

Some non-native English speakers pronounce the '-es' in clothes as

clothes [klo:]th[i:z]
 

harrymick

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Nov 23, 2004
Thank you very much.

No wonder native speaker can speak so fast, they always do drop some sound , or don’t pronounce it at all. Frankly, but I always pronounce every sound as I can as possible, how stupid it looks, doesn’t it.
I really want to know, why you created these rules , but you didn’t stand to (should I use 'abide by' instead of 'stand to')it?
How can I do?
 
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Casiopea

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harrymick said:
Thank you very much.
I really want to know, why you created these rules , but you didn’t stand to (should I use 'abide by' instead of 'stand to')it?
How can I do?
You're welcome, and 'abide' is a good word. :-D

The rules were created by speakers. They are the result of natural processes, and they are found in all human languages. For example, in our example (1) below the symbol <th> is pronounced as a voiced sound, as th in that, and it's pronounced that way because of where it sits in the array of sounds.

(1) clothes [klo:]th[z] (th as in that)

th occurs between two vowels, -o..e-, and since vowels are voiced sounds, or rather they require that you vibrate your vocal folds, it's easier to pronouce three voiced sounds in a row than it is to pronounce voiced [o], then stop and pronounce voiceless <th>, then stop and pronounce voiced [e]. So you see, it's easier if all three sounds in that row are voiced. And that's why <th> is pronounced as th in that, rather than th in think. The process by which a voiceless sound is pronounced as a voiced sound is called Voicing, and it's a result of our human anatomy. That is, if you're human, then you're language will have examples of Voicing. ;-)

As for why some speakers pronounce <th> as [l], well, that involves two other process: some speakers use Assimilation and other speakers use Disassimilation.

(2a) clothes [klo:lz] Assimilation
(2b) clothes [klo:lz] Disassimilation

The process in (2) could be either Assimilation (to make sounds the same: l...th => l...l) or Disassimilation (to make sounds different: thz => lz).

Assimilation
The speaker, upon pronouncing the first <l> carries that sound over to the next consonant <th>, giving [klo:lz]. Speakers do it because it's more efficient: It's easier on the lips, tongue, and other articulators, and so the speaker doesn't have to spend much energy on forming two sounds, when one sound, [l], will do. Assimilation is found in all human languages, even yours. :cool:

Disassimilation
Since th and [z] are very similar sounds, they are difficult to pronounce one after the other, so the speaker changes <th> to [l], to make pronunciation easier. :-D
 
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