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The Fifth Most Common Mistake Non-Native English Speakers Make When Speaking English:
Mispronouncing the /th/ sound
The /th/ sound is very often mispronounced in many different speakers depending on what language you speak. The reason for that is that It’s present in such a small percentage of languages around the world that it may not be a sound present in your language. In that case, you may be just substituting it for different sounds. Common substitutions include the /d/ sound, /t/, /f/, or /z/ sound.
Why is that important?
These are the side effects if you mispronounce the /th/:
– Your clarity and articulation are lower so you are a little bit less understood
– It changes the meaning of the words
– Intelligibility is reduced, and
– You may have a communication breakdown meaning the meaning of what you’re saying can be lost if you are mispronouncing your words and people can misunderstand you.
How to pronounce the /th/ sound?
The Unvoiced /th/
– Your tongue goes in between your teeth and
– Then, you push air over your tongue
Voiced /th/
-You do the same thing with your tongue and air but you also use your vocal cords, so you are phonating
How to say the last sound in a word correctly?
CHECK MY VIDEO BELOW TO PRACTICE PRONOUNCING THE /TH/ WITH ME
The /TH/ sound is often mispronounced. It takes some practice to understand how to make it and actually pronounce it correctly, because as a foreign language speaker, you may not be used to positioning your tongue like it needs to be to make this sound. With additional practice though, you can teach your muscles to move correctly and you can make the brain-ear-muscle connection necessary to completely transform your /TH/ pronunciation.Â
