Pronunciation exercises: /θ/ vs /ð/
|
this /ðɪs/ |
|
think /θɪŋk/ |
This page sets out some words teachers can use to help their students become more aware of how they can improve the pronunciation of /θ/ and /ð/.
The difference between /θ/ and /ð/ is that /ð/ is voiced and /θ/ is not. Even if there are very few minimal pairs, these two sounds are clearly distinct phonemes.
/ð/ is much more common in grammar words and /θ/ in content words.
| /θ/ | /ð/ | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grammar words | Content words | Grammar words | Content words | |
| Beginning of the word | thorough, through | thank, theory, three | that, they, this | |
| Mid position | anything, everything | author, birthday, method | although, other, whether | brother, leather, weather |
| End of the word | both | bath, health, worth | with | bathe, clothe |
In grey, lines with very few examples. In green, lines with (relatively) more examples.
Contents
/θ/[edit]
| æ | ɑː | |
| trap | father - start | |
| e | eɪ | eə |
| dress | face | square |
| ɪ | iː | ɪə |
| kit | fleece | near |
| ɒ | əʊ | ɔː |
| lot | goat | taught |
| ʊ | uː | ʊə |
| foot | goose | mature |
| juː | jʊə | |
| cute | cure | |
| ʌ | ə | ɜː |
| strut | comma | nurse |
| aɪ | aʊ | ɔɪ |
| price | mouth | choice |
| Normal sound: /b, d, f, g, h, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, w, z/ | ||
| ʃ | tʃ | ŋ |
| show | church | sing |
| ʒ | dʒ | j |
| usual | judge | you |
| θ | ð | s |
| think | that | see |
| IPA | Stress |
|---|---|
| ˈ | Primary stress hotel /həʊˈtel/ |
| ˌ | Secondary stress understand /ˌʌndərˈstænd/ |
| IPA | Syllabification |
|---|---|
| . | nitrate /ˈnaɪ.treɪt/, night-rate /ˈnaɪt.reɪt/ |
Grammar words[edit]
- At the beginning of the word: thorough /ˈθʌrə/BrE /ˈθɜːrəʊ/AmE - through
- At the end of the word: both - with (also /wɪð/)
- In mid position: anything - everything - nothing - something - withinAmE - withoutAmE
Content words[edit]
- At the beginning of the word: thank - theatre - theory - thermometer - thick - thief - thin - thing - think - third - thirsty - thirty - thought - thousand - thread - three - throw - thumb /θʌm/ - Thursday
- At the end of the word: bath - birth - breath - cloth - death - earth - faith - fourth - growth - health - length - month - moth - mouth - north - south - teeth - tooth - truth - worth
- In mid position: anthropology - Athens - author - athlete - birthday - enthusiasm - Ethiopia - ethnic - filthy - healthy - hypothesis - mathematics - method - monthly - wealthy
/ð/[edit]
Grammar words[edit]
- At the beginning of the word: than - that - the - their - them - then - there - these - they - this - those - though - thus - within (AmE also /wɪθˈɪn/) - without (AmE also /wɪθˈaʊt/)
- In mid position: although - another - either - neither - other - together - whether
- At the end of the word: with (also /wɪθ/)
Content words[edit]
- At the end of the word: bathe - breathe - clothe - smooth - soothe
- In mid position: algorithm - bother - brother - clothes /kləʊðz, kləʊz/ - clothing - farther - father - feather - further - gather - leather - logarithm - mother - Netherlands - northern - rather - southern /ˈsʌðərn/ - rhythm - weather - worthy
Irregular plurals of words ending in /θ/, as /ðz/
- baths - mouths - paths - youths
/ð/ or /θ/[edit]
- booth - notwithstanding - with - withdraw - withdrawal - withhold
Several plurals of words ending in /θ/ are irreglular, pronounced as /ðz/. In American English they may be regular, pronounced as /θs/.
Conversely, at least one plural is regular in Received Pronunciation and may be irregular in American English.
Minimal pairs[edit]
There are no minimal pairs with two common words.
- ether /ˈiːθər/ - either /ˈaɪðər, ˈiːðər/; loath - loathe; mouth (n.) - mouth (v. move lips); teeth - teethe (to grow teeth);
References[edit]
See also[edit]
External links[edit]
- Wikipedia, Pronunciation of English "th"
