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  • Hello there!

  • This is theSounds Americanchannel.

  • In this video were going to talk about the American consonant sound /ð/,

  • as in the wordthis.”

  • You can also hear this sound in words like

  • than,”

  • there,”

  • other

  • ormother.”

  • Well be using a special phonetic symbol - /ð/ - for this sound.

  • The English /ð/ sound occurs in less than 10% of the world languages

  • and it’s not present in the majority of European and Asian languages.

  • Therefore, this sound can be challenging for those non-native English speakers

  • who don’t have it in their native languages.

  • They often distort it or replace it with more familiar sounds,

  • such as /z/, /d/, /v/, or /θ/.

  • Keep watching to learn how to pronounce the /ð/ sound and practice it in words.

  • First,

  • let’s find out how to make this sound.

  • The /ð/ is the voiced counterpart of the voiceless /θ/.

  • This means

  • that it’s made the same way,

  • but with adding a voice.

  • Slightly open your mouth

  • and put the tip of your tongue between your front teeth.

  • Note that the tip of your tongue may gently touch the bottom of your upper front teeth.

  • Now blow air over your tongue

  • making a noise.

  • The stream of air should flow between your upper teeth and the tongue.

  • Note that the /ð/ is a voiced consonant sound,

  • so you need to add your voice when pronouncing it.

  • Let’s try saying it:

  • /ð/

  • /ð/

  • /ð/

  • Here are a few common mistakes

  • that people make when pronouncing the /ð/:

  • number one:

  • Not pushing the tongue forward enough

  • or pressing the tip of the tongue against the upper front teeth.

  • This way youll make a consonant that sounds more like a /z/.

  • Put the tip of your tongue between your upper and bottom front teeth.

  • Number two

  • Stopping the airflow with the tip of the tongue.

  • The /ð/ sound gets distorted and sounds more like /d/ or even /t/.

  • /ð/ is a continuous sound;

  • so keep the airstream flowing.

  • You should be able to stretch the /ð/ out:

  • /ð- ð- ð- ð/.

  • Now, let’s practice the /ð/ sound in some words.

  • Youll see a word on the screen and hear its pronunciation.

  • Like this.

  • Youll have a few seconds to pronounce the word.

  • [sound prompt to start speaking]

  • Make sure you repeat each word after the speaker,

  • youll be surprised how fast your pronunciation improves.

  • Let’s begin.

  • Let’s pause for a second and check on how youre making the /ð/ sound.

  • The tip of your tongue should be between your teeth.

  • The sound is made from the friction in the stream of air

  • flowing between your tongue and the teeth.

  • Don’t forget to add your voice.

  • Let’s continue practicing.

  • Youre done!

  • Congratulations!

  • BTW, if you count all the words with the consonant sound /ð/,

  • there won’t be many of them.

  • Were crazy enough to know that it’s less than one percent of all English words.

  • However, most of them are function words;

  • and function words are the most frequently used ones in American English.

  • So the consonant sound /ð/ is present in practically every sentence.

  • You probably want to go back and practice now :)

  • Don’t be shy, leave us a comment if you have any questions.

  • We love your comments!

  • Stay tuned and don’t forget to subscribe!

Hello there!

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