These sound. The best English tongue twisters for practicing sounds - for children and adults. The sound value of the English digraph sh

We continue our pronunciation lessons from native American Dave Skonda. In this lesson you will learn how to pronounce sounds correctly. [Ө, ð] and get rid of common pronunciation mistakes TH, characteristic of Russian speakers, the so-called "Russian accent".

My comment:
TH pronunciation- causes particular difficulties and here's why.
Sounds [Ө, ð] - absent in Russian. We have similar sounds [s, h]. And therefore, when pronouncing, we replace English sounds with Russian ones and as a result we get « Russian accent". To get rid of it, pay attention to the difference in pronunciation. Here are two major mistakes.

When pronouncing Russian [s, h] we don't blow air. When speaking English [Ө, ð] - air passes freely through the gap between the tongue and upper teeth. Put your hand to your mouth. Feel the difference.

When pronouncing Russian [s, h] the tongue lies in the mouth. When speaking English [Ө, ð] - the tongue should lie flat, then the air will pass freely and the sound will be correct. To do this, straighten the tongue and stick it out.

TH -sound / Pronunciation of TH (video tutorial from native speaker Dave Skonda)

Here is the translation of the lesson into Russian:

Two sounds that are very similar. The TH-sound: voiceless- [Ө] , voiced- [ð] .

Letter combination TH pronounced differently: deaf (no voice) - [Ө] and sonorous (with a voice) - [ð]

OK, the TH-sound [ð] or [Ө] . voiced TH — [ð-ð-ð] vibrates [ð-ð-ð]. You can feel the vibration right here [ð-ð-ð]. Don't squeeze too hard))

Let's figure it out. Voiced sound TH pronounced with voice vibration. While pronouncing it, you clearly feel the vibration if you grab your hand by the throat. Just don't overdo it.

Voiceless TH — [Ө-Ө-Ө] . You touch here - no vibration [Ө-Ө-Ө] .voiced [ð-ð-ð] , voiceless [Ө-Ө-Ө] . This is fun. You can do this all day.

Making a hollow sound TH, you will not feel this vibration. Like this. Isn't it funny. You can do this all day :)

Common mistakes with voiceless TH depending on your native language and country.

practice

OK, ma th, ma th. Are you studying ma th?
Th ank you. Th ank you. Th ank you very much.
Too th, too th. my too th hurts.
Ba th,ba th. I am going to take a ba th, not bat.
I like your mou th, not I like your mouse.
Move your mou th.
We are th rough. Not we are true. Are we true? Are you true? th rough, th rough

The main reason why people mispronounce this or that sound is that such a sound does not exist in their native language. Try to pronounce the word "ma th- Mathematics, do you have such a subject as mathematics?
And now the word "too th» tooth, and expression my too th hurts- "I have a toothache."
Ba th- bathroom. I am going to take a ba th, not bat. Don't pronounce the word "bathroom" like "bat".
I like your mou th, not I like your mouse. Don't say the word "mouse"
Move your mou th. Articulate.
We are th rough. - We're done. Not to be confused with the word "true" - true.

First, voiceless TH, tongue stucking out beyond the teeth. Don't be afraid, just stick it out.
Push air out between the top teeth and the tongue. Between - [Ө-Ө-Ө].
Practice this position, pushing air out, like you re exercising. Have fun with it. Get comfortable with it.
Tell your brain, your are creating a new habit. Tell your brain this is important.

First, by pronouncing silent TH, we stick out the tip of the tongue between the teeth. Don't be afraid to take it out!! When pronouncing this sound, the air must pass between the upper teeth and the tongue. Practice, good sound takes practice, you have to get used to it. It is very important.

practice voiceless TH:

at the beginning of the word: th ank you th ink, th ought
at the middle of the word: some th ing, no th ing, heal th y.
(I say naturally heal th y. And my tongue is very fast.)

at the end of the word: ma th, mou th, bo th.

And now we will train to pronounce this sound

at the beginning of words: th ank you th ink, th ought
in the middle of a word: some th ing, no th ing, heal th y.
(Word heal th y I speak fast.)

And finally, at the end of the word: ma th, mou th,bo th.

practice more
<….>
The TH-sound. Use your tongue, push it out. Don't be shy. Don't be afraid to push out your tongue, to show your tongue. Be proud of your tongue. It is like a massage for your mou th. May be more massage for your tongue.

We are still training.

I will eat any th heal th y with my tee th. (2)
Th ank you for driving back and for th th is mon th. (2)
I th ink be th is traveling nor th on the pa th. (2)

pronouncing TH sound you need to stick out the tip of your tongue. Don't be shy, stick out your tongue. We must show it to everyone, we must be proud of it.

voiced TH- [ð-ð-ð]. Mistakes some people make.

practice

Th is, th is. Is th is yours?
Th ere, th here. Are you going th here?
Th en, th en. Then will you go with us?
Brea th e, brea th e. You need to breathe th e.
Th is is beautiful.
look over th here.
Improve your English, than celebrate.
Th at's it, very good.
At the beginning of the word: th ere th at th e
At the middle of the word: bro th er, ei th er, o th er
At the end of the word: smoo th, brea th e
That mo th er can't breathe th e. (2)
Ira th er like th is wea th er. (2)

Voiced TH. Pay attention to common mistakes. Do not hurry! Improve your pronunciation, then you will celebrate! That's it, right?
Now let's say this sound at the beginning of words: th ere th at th e
Now voiced TH in the middle of a word: bro th er, ei th er, o th er
And finally, at the end of the word: smoo th, brea th e.

Remember push the tongue out beyoohd the teeth. Push the air out over the tongue.
[ð-ð-ð] Touch your th roat. It vibrates. Now you know you have the correct voiced sound if it's vibrating here.
It's not [Ө-Ө-Ө] . It's not voiced.
Now let's exercise. [Ө-Ө-Ө] You do this alone. No one's gonna see you. [ð-ð-ð]
Tell your brain to remember this.

Do not forget that the tongue should be between the teeth, blow out the air.
Touch your hand to your throat, feel the vibration? If yes, then you are pronouncing the sound correctly.
See the difference with the silent TH, pronouncing its vibrations you will not feel.
And now let's get down to practice, pronounce it diligently, you are alone, and no one sees you.
You have to get used to this sound.

Pronunciation is rather fun. That's all for now.

Learning pronunciation is fun. Here are some more phrases to practice.
If you try ano th er technique, th ink about th e person you talking wi th.
Al th ough you are pretending, this method will make speaking more smoo th.
That's all for today.

You need to stick your tongue out for this sound. Please, don't be shy or afraid. Be proud of your tongue. The biggest problem is that I see the students are afraid to stick there tongue out. It feel uncomfortable for a while.
But you will get used to it. You might even like it.
Remember, in North American English we move our mouth more than many other countries.
Please, understand this and you will improve your pronunciation much faster.
Now remember the technique, exaggerate when you practice in order to make this habit stay with you.
So you don't forget after time passes. We want your brain to remember these actions and make a new habit. OK?

And I remind you again.
Do not forget that it is very important to stick out the tongue. Do not be shy. Should be proud. One of the typical mistakes students make is being embarrassed to stick their tongue out. It may be strange at first, but over time you will get used to it. You will even like it. Interestingly, in North America tongue stick out more than in all other countries. Keep this in mind and you will improve your offering.
And don't forget to remember how to pronounce the sound, you need to exaggerate while you practice.
You must make this sound familiar to your speech, so that after a while you will not forget it.
You have to teach your brain a new sound and then you will pronounce it correctly.

TH pronunciation -sound (exercises for daily training)

Be sure to repeat these words and phrases three times a day for 5 days.

Thank you, think, thought
something, nothing, healthy
math, mouth, both
I will eat anything healthy with my teeth.
Thank you for driving back and forth this month.
I think Beth is traveling north on the path.

there, that, the
brother, either, other
smooth, breathe
That mother can't breathe.
I rather like this weather.

[Ө, ð]

Pronunciation is rather fun.
If you try another technique think about the person you are talking with.
Although you are pretending this method will make your speaking more smooth.
That's all for now.

Have questions about th pronunciation- write in the comments!

Now, friends, we will learn how to read letter combinations th and the pronunciation of perhaps the most difficult English sounds - [ð] And [θ] . Strictly speaking, the letter combination th conveys these two sounds, which are denoted by the signs [ð] and [θ] in transcription.

So, let's start from specific examples. Let's take English word this (this, this, this). As you can see, this word contains the letter combination th. If you find this word in the dictionary, then opposite it you will see the following transcription [ðɪs]. Thus, in the word this, the letter combination th conveys the sound [ð]. How to pronounce it?

For correct pronunciation sound [ð] you need to open your mouth and stick out your tongue. Lightly bite your tongue with your teeth. Now pronounce the Russian sound “z”. You will get the same Russian sound “z”, but only very, very lisping. This is English [ð]. Check out examples where th is read as [ð]:

this
that
the
weather
mother
breathe
bathe

Now let's turn to the word three (three), which also contains the combination th. If you check this word in the dictionary, you will find the transcription [θriː], i.e. th in this word conveys the sound [θ]. How should this sound be pronounced? Almost the same as the sound [ð], i.e. open your mouth, stick out your tongue, bite your tongue a little with your teeth and pronounce the Russian “s”. Please note: when pronouncing the previous sound, we said “z”, and now - “s”. The result is an overly lisping “s” sound. Here are the words in which the combination th is read as [θ]:

three
throw
through
lethal
panther
teeth
breath
mouth

You can also watch the following video lesson below, in which a native speaker will teach you correct reading letter combinations th and pronunciation of sounds [ð] and [θ].

and [z] and [θ] and [ð] is that [θ] and [ð] have a character by ear, and [s] and [z] - .Thus, [θ] and [ð] in to some extent correspond to the Russian pronunciation "s", for example, in the word "bough" and "z", for example, in the word "zone". The digraph th has two sound meanings: voiceless [θ] and voiced [ð]:

in English, voiced [ð] is found in function words (article, pronoun, preposition, etc.) and in the middle of other words as a result of the voiceless [θ] being voiced by the surrounding vowels.

For example: that [ðæt] - that, then [ðen] - then, the [ðe], there [ðeə]

otherwise, th indicates a voiceless sound [θ] .

For example: thing [θıŋ] ,thrill [θrıl]

Do not replace the sounds [θ] and [ð] with the sounds [s] and [z] - this may change the meaning of the word. For example: instead of thin [θın] - thin will turn out sin - sin.

Example
[θ]	theme, thin, tenth, teeth
[ð]	them, than, that, then

Three sound meanings of the English digraph ch

The digraph ch usually reflects a combination of two sounds [t] and [ʃ], reminiscent of Russian [h] in the word person, but with a more distinct first element.

ex: chin, chess, chill, chips, chops, chinch

In a few words, relatively recently borrowed from French, saved French reading digraph ch as [ʃ]

for example: machine , chic [ʃık]

In words of Greek origin, ch is pronounced like [k]. If the spelling of the word has a digraph ch, which in Russian in a similar word corresponds to the letter x, then this word is of Greek origin, and in this case ch reflects the sound [k] .

for example: architect - architect ["ɑ: kıtekt] , archaic ["ɑ: keık] , chemist - chemist ["kemıst] , scheme- , character - character, chemistry - chemistry

Example
	such, chess, match, chin, China ["tʃaınə]
[k]	chemist ["kemıst] , technical ["teknıkəl] , scheme , school

The sound value of the English digraph ck

The digraph сk reflects the sound [k].
For example: sick , thick [θık] , check , lock, trick, cock, neck, clock, nok, block.

The sound value of the English digraph sh

The sh digraph reflects the sound [ʃ], similar to Russian [sh], but pronounced somewhat softer [sh].
For example: shell [ʃel] , fish , shelf [ʃelf] , shin [ʃın] , fresh , shift, shim

Two sound values of the digraph wh

when after the letter combination wh is o, then only the second letter h is usually pronounced in it,

ex: who , whole , who , whom

in all other cases, wh reflects the sound [w]

for example: when , which , why , while

The sound value of the digraph gu

This digraph reflects the sound [g]
For example: guest , plague , guide , guess , guild , guile

Digraph gh

The English letter combination gh is found in words of Germanic origin. It should be remembered that in English the digraph gh in the middle of a word does not sound, and the vowel i in front of it is pronounced as a diphthong.

For example: light , might , right , night

in a few words in the final position, the digraph gh reflects the sound [f] .

For example: laugh, enough [ı "nʌf] , rough

the combination ought is pronounced like [ɔ: t].

For example: ought [ɔ:t] , bought , fought , brought

at the beginning of the word gh reflects the sound [g].

For example ghost, ghetto ["getɒʋ] , ghastly ["gɑ:stlı] .

Digraph ph

The digraph ph occurs in words of Greek origin and is pronounced
like the sound [f]
For example: graph graph, photography photograph, photo ["fɒʋtɒʋ]

Digraphs wr, kn, gn

At the beginning of the word, the sound of these digraphs was simplified to the sounds [r] and [n]. Thus, the English digraph wr is read as [r], the English letter combinations kn,gn as [n]
For example: write , knight , gnat , knee , knife

Digraphs ng, nk

The letter combination ng at the end of the word is read as a sound [ŋ], for example: thing [ðıŋ]
The letter combination nk is read as the sound combination [ŋk], for example: ink [ıŋk]

Digraphs mb, mn

At the end of the word in sound combinations, the sounds [b] and [n] have disappeared, only [m] is pronounced.
For example: lamb , bomb , limb , autumn [ɔ: tm] , hymn .

Two sound values of the English digraph qu

You should know that the letter q is always followed by the letter u, and this English letter combination qu is read as follows:

at the beginning and middle of a word, it reflects the combination

For example: , quill , quint , quilt

at the end of a word, qu conveys the sound [k]

For example: unique , technique

Sound meaning of English letter combinations ci (si, ti)

The letter combination ci (si, ti) reflects the sound [ʃ], for example: Asia ["eıʃə],
specialist ["speʃəlıst]. Such a letter combination is often part of the noun suffix -ion, which forms abstract nouns. This suffix corresponds to the Russian suffixes -tsiya, -ssiya, for example: mission ["mıʃn] - mission, nation ["neıʃn] - nation, demonstration - demonstration.

Note. If there is a vowel before -sion, then this combination conveys the sound [ʒən], for example: explosion [ıks"pləʋʒən] , erosion [ı"rəʋʒən] , conclusion , revision .

The sound meaning of the English letter combinations ture, sure

As a result of certain phonetic changes in the English language, the combination ture began to be perceived as a symbol of a sound combination.

for example: lecture ["lektʃə] , literature ["lıtərıtʃə] , mixture ["mıkstʃə]

The letter combination sure has become a graphic symbol of the sound combination [ə].

for example: pressure ["preʃə] , tonsure

If there is a vowel before the letter combination sure, then it reflects the sound [ʒə]

for example: pleasure ["pleʒə] ,treasure ["treʒə] ,measure ["meʒə]

Introduction

The sound is rightfully considered the king of complexity among English sounds.

In many languages, such a sound does not exist at all, except for Arabic, Greek, Castilian and Swahili.
You and I are also lucky.
We do not have such a letter!

For this reason, it is so difficult for us to pronounce words such as the, this, with ... And therefore we often replace the sound with C, T, Z or D.
And it sounds instead of The - Ze or De; instead of Think - Sink or Tink.
And you, by the way, know that it was not from a good life that the English people began to stick out their tongues, but from a lack of front upper teeth during scurvy. Don't believe? Read the origin story English sound.

“... scurvy, which was the result of a cold snap, dramatically changed the phonetic picture of Europe. Babies whose teeth fell out before they had time to grow were physically unable to utter dental sounds, and the rest of their speech apparatus was forced to rebuild for a more or less intelligible pronunciation of the simplest words ... The sounds d, t, s, z fell out along with the teeth, and swollen from scurvy of the gums and tongue could not pronounce the contractions of two consonants ... "

That is, if it seems to you that the sound is a lisping S or Z, then you are on the right track.
Try to pronounce the tongue twister “Sasha walked along the highway and sucked dry”, replacing With the sound Th. It should look something like this: “Thla Thаtha by thоthе and thоthala thоthku.”
If there was scurvy in Russia, we would probably talk like that with you.
By the way, the above phrase is convenient to use as an exercise for warming up before classes. Just make sure there are fewer people around.

Who is guilty?

Usually they say - stick your tongue out and Tell « THIS« .
But in many countries "IT" is considered indecent!
"Don't show your tongue" our mother says to her child.
Even as adults, people cannot perform this simple action, which is so necessary in the English language.

And here Einstein didn't hesitate to do it. And that means you shouldn't either.
In addition, some especially sophisticated teachers even recommend biting the protruding tongue with your teeth.

What to do or debunking myths?

Well, we have already figured out who is to blame - this is our mentality and the inclinations of some teachers.
And here I would like to quote an excerpt from Mikhail Zadornov about a foreign intelligence agent:
“Right from the construction site, they took me to courses in English, from which I was expelled for poor progress, because the teacher did not understand my pure English pronunciation.
Once he asked me where I studied the language. I honestly admitted - in an English special school.
He replied that he always did not trust English special schools, and it’s not at all like me, you need to pronounce the word “The table” according to last instruction VTsSPS."

Now it remains to find out what to do? How to learn to pronounce this sound without spending the rest of your life on it?
After trying to do it myself, looking through a bunch of literature and carefully listening to my own feelings, I came to certain conclusions and found the right ways to quickly solve the problem. According to the comedian: "Having drunk, I judged soberly."

Firstly, it is absolutely not necessary to stick out your tongue for a kilometer - this is a common misconception. Usually 2-3 MILLIMETER is enough, which looks decent enough even with our reserved mentality.

Secondly, the tongue should be pressed against the UPPER TEETH, and not just stick out, which is another common misconception. However, it should be pressed only slightly so as not to block the movement of air. Do you want to stay alive in the end?

Third, the core of this manual is my know-how.
Or maybe How-Know, as Zadornov says :)):
Imagine that the LOWER edge of the TOP teeth…

Ok, I know it sounds complicated, especially after a day at work.
Let's look at the photo.

Ouch!
This kid has no teeth at all!
And scurvy has nothing to do with it.

Then one more try...

OK, this photo is closer to the topic.
Although Keira Knightley looks
a bit like a vampire, but
she obviously did not suffer from scurvy
and she can see well
the same edge of the upper teeth.

So. Imagine what this edge is guitar string .
And you need SLIGHTLY sticking out the sharp and hard tip of the tongue, pull it on this string. Pull the tip of the tongue from outside to inside. Jinh...
Those who have played the guitar probably know what a plectrum or pick is. So the tip of the tongue performs the same function.
Now it is clear? We pull the tip of the tongue by the edge-string deep into the mouth and slightly up.

Try it. Try it a few times - you'll love it, I promise!
Do you really want to own this? voiced dental fricative consonant ?
Oh sorry! It seems that with this phrase I scared away more than half of the readers.
However, there is no greater half, and this is incredibly comforting ...

Look and listen my pronunciation explanation sound- the king of the complexity of English sounds

To purchase Lingvo-vitamin sound follow this link.