The "th" Sound for Spanish speakers

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The "th" Sound for Spanish speakers

A common mistake for Spanish speakers is to substitute "th" sound for a "t" or "d" sound.

There are two "th" sounds in English:

1- The voiceless "th" as in think.
2- The voiced "th" as in that.

1- Voiceless "th" vs. "t"

Some Spanish speakers incorrectly pronounce the voiceless "th" as a "t" and the following words end up sounding the same:

/θ/		/t/
thank		tank
bath		bat

To correct this problem change the position of your tongue by moving it forward to touch the teeth. Also, make sure that there is a flow of air between your tongue and your teeth. Your vocal cords do not vibrate.

2- Voiced "th" vs. "d"

Some Spanish speakers incorrectly pronounce the voiced "th" as a "d" and the following words end up sounding the same:

/ð/		/d/
they		day
breathe		breed

To correct this problem change the position of your tongue by moving it forward to touch the teeth. Also, make sure that there is a flow of air between your tongue and your teeth. Your vocal cords vibrate.

Make sure that your tongue vibrates under your upper teeth. Do not bite your tongue or press it on your upper teeth too strongly, this will block the flow of air that is required to produce the /ð/ sound correctly.

Comparing "th" with "s" and "z"

Some people wrongly pronounce the voiceless "th" as an "s" or "z". They say "sank" for thank instead of pronounce /ˈθæŋk/, and pronounce the voiced "th" as an "briz" for breathe instead of pronounce /ˈbri:ð/.

Learn the correct pronunciation of this sound in The "th" Sound.

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