Having troubles pronouncing 'tw' words

Status
Not open for further replies.

bibi00

Member
Joined
May 9, 2011
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
Hong Kong
Current Location
Canada
Hi,

I am having problems pronouncing 'tw' words like twenty, twelve, twins and twist.

I have attached a short audio clip of me saying it.
mediafire.com/?delk839dfpxkkop

Please give me some suggestions on what I'm doing wrong.

Thanks!
 

birdeen's call

VIP Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2010
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Polish
Home Country
Poland
Current Location
Poland
Can you pronounce [t] alone, as in "top" or "ten"?
 

bibi00

Member
Joined
May 9, 2011
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
Hong Kong
Current Location
Canada
Yeah. It's just tw.

When I say the tw, my lips close up towards the center and then out into a smiling shape. My tongue is in the middle. I'm sure this is wrong.

I speak English more than my native language, so my habits were developed long ago. I want to correct the more serious pronunciation issues.
 
Last edited:

Tdol

No Longer With Us (RIP)
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Japan
Your tongue- could you explain this a bit more? Where's the tip of your tongue? When I say it, the end of my tongue is at the top of my mouth, a bit behind my teeth.
 

bibi00

Member
Joined
May 9, 2011
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
Hong Kong
Current Location
Canada
It's just lying there in the bottom not moving. So my tongue is suppose to start by touching the roof behind my teeth, then lower as I speak?
 

youandcorey

Junior Member
Joined
Oct 19, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
Japan
One great way for improving pronunciation is to use youtube.

Search for certain words or topics that you'd like to target. After watching and listening to them next record your own voice and compare.

Note: By recording your own voice you can listen to your own pronunciation from a new perspective.
 

birdeen's call

VIP Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2010
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Polish
Home Country
Poland
Current Location
Poland
It's just lying there in the bottom not moving. So my tongue is suppose to start by touching the roof behind my teeth, then lower as I speak?
Yes. Your tongue is supposed to make exactly the same movement as it does when you just pronounce [t]. The letter "t" corresponds to the same sound in both "twin" and "tin". The first sound of either word is [t].
 

bibi00

Member
Joined
May 9, 2011
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
Hong Kong
Current Location
Canada
How's this? I tried correcting it, but not sure if it improved.

mediafire.com/?0e7mtje279t52v6
 

birdeen's call

VIP Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2010
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Polish
Home Country
Poland
Current Location
Poland
How's this? I tried correcting it, but not sure if it improved.

mediafire.com/?0e7mtje279t52v6
Your "tw" is good now! Well done. :)
 

sten4556

Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2011
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
I listened to both and you GREATLY improved from the first to the second. Congrats. I think it sounds really good!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top