Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • Hi, today, we're talking about the unvoiced "th" sound.

  • So, both the voiced and unvoiced "th" sound have the same shape of the tongue slightly out of the mouth and the upper teeth resting on the tongue, while the air flows through and makes a vibration.

  • So, it's the same shape but with the voiced version, you're using your voice.

  • We already learned that sound, the same sound that's in the word "them" and "they," but now we're going to learn to not use our voice.

  • So, if you feel your throat this time there should be no vibration, in words such as "thanks" and "thought."

  • So, give it a try now and put your hand on your throat and feel if there is a vibration, making sure you do not use your voice.

  • And let's compare two words: one of them has the unvoiced "th" and the other has a different sound that's a common mistake.

  • So, one mistake is that people will make an "s" sound instead of saying "think" they might say "sink."

  • So, compare the shape with the tongue out in "think" to the tongue being inside the mouth in "sink."

  • Another mistake is to create a "t" sound, which also involves the tongue inside the mouth.

  • So, instead of saying "thin," someone might say "tin," which involves a quick burst of air and a release of the air.

  • The difference is that in the "th" sound there is a steady flow of air creating friction through the teeth as it's resting on the tongue.

  • So, once again, we practiced the words, "thought," "thanks," and we also compared "think" and "sink" and "thin" and "tin."

  • So, those are really good and minimal pairs to practice if you have a common mistake.

  • It's good to compare those two sounds so that you can hear the difference between the two sounds, and you can produce the difference between those two sounds.

  • It was great practicing with you!

  • It's time for you to practice on your own, and thank you for watching!

Hi, today, we're talking about the unvoiced "th" sound.

Subtitles and vocabulary

Click the word to look it up Click the word to find further inforamtion about it