TH, T Sounds

How to pronounce the voiced and
unvoiced/voiceless 'th sounds'

/ð – voiced , θ - voiceless/
With the exception of being voiced or unvoiced, the /ð/ and /θ/ are nearly identical;
the tip of the tongue is placed behind the top front teeth. The friction occurs between
the tip of the tongue and the top front teeth. Subtle friction may also occur between
the top of the front of the tongue and the tooth ridge. The lips are kept relaxed during
the production of both 'th sounds.'
The 'th sounds' are continuous consonants, meaning that they should be capable of
being held for a few seconds with even and smooth pronunciation for the entire
duration. Because the sounds are fricatives, the majority of the sound comes from the
friction of the air traveling through a small opening in the vocal tract.
The voiceless “th” sound is made without using vocal cords. This sound is common in
most words that begin with “th.” “Think,” “third,” and “thank” all start with the
voiceless “th.”
In the voiced “th,” English speakers use their vocal cords while they make the “th”
sound. This is heard in nearly all structure words in English that begin with “th.” By
“structure words,” I mean words whose purpose is mostly grammatical. Structure
words that begin with the voiced “th” sound include “the,” “those,” “that,” “this,”
“than”, “then”, and others.
Common 'voiced and voiceless th'
spellings /θ, ð/
1. th (voiced) ð
a. them /ðɛm/
b. mother /'mʌð ɚ/
c. smooth /smuð/ = we don’t let the tongue go out of our mouth!
- the tongue does not leave the mouth, it touches the roof of it and just behind the upper
teeth.
CATEGORIES:
1.) at the beginning of function words (words which have no specific meaning) = this, that, these
(longer ee), those (longer), than, then, they, them, there, their, therefore… = pronouns,
conjunctions etc.
2.) in the middle of words, between 2 vowels = for example, in “er + th” or “th + er”, like in
“mother”, “worthy” (not spelled “er”, but pronounced like “er”)
 try saying “worthy mother”.
- also, in a situation “verb + e”, like in “bathe, loathe” (th is voiced).
- also, in “th + ing” = bathing.
3.) only at the end of “with” – it is voiced, BUT the majority of the English-speaking world,
they pronounce it as VOICELESS! EXCEPTION!!
“Go with them.” = you can say it as either voiced, or voiceless!

2. th (voiceless, unvoiced) θ
a. think /θɪŋk/
b. method /'mɛθ əd/
c. bath /bæθ/
3 CATEGORIES:
1.) content words = nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, etc. which start with a “th” spelling:
thumb, think, thank, thick…
2.) middle of words = before a consonant: toothpick, bathtub… (with “a” in tub)
3.) at the end of the word = in almost all words, except for “with” (voiced by rule)
- the tongue goes out of your mouth slightly.

th (voiceless, unvoiced) θ
voiced “th”
How to pronounce the 't sound' /t/
The 't sound' /t/ is unvoiced (the vocal cords do not vibrate while producing it), and is the
counterpart to the voiced 'd sound' /d/.
To create the /t/, air is briefly prevented from leaving the vocal tract when the tip of the
tongue presses against the tooth ridge while the sides of the tongue press against the upper
side teeth. The sound is aspirated when the air is released. The aspiration for a /t/ is greater
than the aspiration for a /d/, especially when it is the first sound of a word or the first sound
of a stressed syllable.
When /t/ doesn't sound like /t/

The American English 't sound' /t/ Allophones
Most sounds of English do not have one exact method of production; small variations of
sound (called allophones) are often so minimal that native speakers of a language often
barely notice their existence. Which allophone is used depends on adjacent sounds, placement
within a word, and if the sound is within a stressed syllable. While native speakers use
allophones intuitively, non-native speakers benefit greatly from explicit instruction on the
subject by increasing their listening comprehension as well as being perceived as more fluent
speakers.
Studying allophones is complicated by the fact that most dictionaries do not show allophones
in their transcriptions (the symbols they use to represent sounds). Instead, most dictionaries
use a single symbol to represent all allophones of a sound. Learners who wish to fully
understand allophone usage should refer to dictionaries that specialize in pronunciation, such
as the Longman Pronunciation Dictionary.
The American English /t/ includes the following four common allophones:
1. Remain a regularly aspirated 't sound' /t/

2. Be pronounced like a quick /d/ (also called an alveolar tap) represented as /t̬ /
3. Become a glottal stop /ʔ/
4. Be silent (omitted) /t/
1: True /t/
The /t/ is a regular, aspirated /t/ when it is the first sound of a word or a stressed syllable (or
does not fit into patterns 2-4 below). This rule overrides all other /t/ allophone patterns.
In the examples below, the /t/ is pronounced normally because the sound begins a stressed
syllable.
1. attach: /ə ˈtæʧ/
2. pretend: /prɪ ˈtɛnd/
3. italic: /ɪ ˈtæl ɪk/
2: Quick 'd sound' /t̬ /
The alveolar stop /t̬ / sounds like a quick /d/. It occurs when a /t/ is between a vowel sound
or /r/ (including all r-controlled vowels) and either another vowel sound, /r/ (including all r-
controlled vowels), or a syllabic /l/.
1. daughter: /ˈdɔt̬ ɚ/
2. computer: /kəm ˈpjut̬ ɚ/
3. settle: /ˈsɛt̬ l/ (r – is somewhat present, because of how your tongue rolls)
3: Glottal stop /ʔ/ Br.E. stupid = schewpid
The /t/ is pronounced as a glottal stop /ʔ/ (the sound in the middle of the word 'uh-oh') when
it is between a vowel, /n/, or /r/ (including all r-controlled vowels) and followed by
an /n/ (including a syllabic /n/), /m/, or non-syllabic /l/.
1. partner: /ˈpɑrʔ nɚ/
2. certain: /ˈsɚʔ n/
3. fitness: /ˈfɪʔ nəs/
4: Omitted /t/: /t/
An italicized /t/ means that the sound can be silent—or omitted—from a

word. This /t/ allophone varies the most widely among native speakers, and even within a
single speaker's speech patterns. The /t/ is less likely to be omitted when the speaker is
emphasizing the word for a reason. Also, among all the /t/ allophones, this usage can be
considered the most informal and non-standardized.
There are two scenarios where the /t/ is often omitted.
Scenario 1) The /t/ is optionally silent when it follows /n/ and precedes a vowel

sound, /r/ (including all r-controlled vowels) or a syllabic /l/.
1. center: /ˈsɛnt ɚ/
2. gentle: /ˈʤɛnt l GENTLE – pronounce the “t”, GENTLEMAN = “t” can be completely
silent/ignored!
3. advantage: /əd ˈvæn(t) ɪʤ (completely ignore “t”)
Scenario 2) In addition to the above instances of omitting the /t/, it is often omitted when it
occurs between two consonant sounds (except the consonants specifically mentioned
for /t̬ / and glottal stop). This is likely to occur when an -s ending is added to a word.
1. prints: /prɪn(t)s/ = t can be omitted if necessary, if you want to!
2. acts: /ækts/ = She acts in a play.
3. accepts: /ək ˈsɛpts/ = you can omit the “t” = “She accepts my present.”
MORE PRACTICE HERE:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tscTFCj5RTw (song practice)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZb_EWVCUoE (explanation + rules)

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How to pronounce the voiced and

unvoiced/voiceless 'th sounds'

“Go with them.” = you can say it as either voiced, or voiceless!

- the tongue goes out of your mouth slightly.

When /t/ doesn't sound like /t/

The American English /t/ includes the following four common allophones:

1. Remain a regularly aspirated 't sound' /t/

2: Quick 'd sound' /t̬ /

An italicized /t/ means that the sound can be silent—or omitted—from a

There are two scenarios where the /t/ is often omitted.

Scenario 1) The /t/ is optionally silent when it follows /n/ and precedes a vowel

1. prints: /prɪn(t)s/ = t can be omitted if necessary, if you want to!

2. acts: /ækts/ = She acts in a play.

MORE PRACTICE HERE:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tscTFCj5RTw (song practice)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZb_EWVCUoE (explanation + rules)

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