Th and w sounds

To make the voiced and unvoiced TH sounds, place the tip of your tongue between your top and bottom teeth. It should not stick out very far. Then blow air through the space between your tongue and your top teeth. You also blow air through the top teeth. This makes the unvoiced TH sound (IPA symbol: θ). It is a natural sound. When you add your voice, you make the voiced TH sound (IPA symbol: ð). It is a buzzing sound similar to the Z sound but with a different tongue position.

Sometimes your tongue will not stick through your top and bottom teeth to make the voiced TH sound. When linking words together,your tongue is sometimes placed right behind your top teeth. Because the voiced and voiceless TH sounds share the exact same spelling, it is difficult to know how to pronounce new words that have the TH spelling. There are more words in English with the voiceless TH sound than the voiced TH sound.

Practice the voiceless TH sound by saying these words aloud. Remember that this TH sound is not voiced. Your vocal cords do not vibrate when you make this sound. Make sure you are only using air to make the sound. Voiceless TH at the beginning of a word: 1 .think 5. thirty 2. thin 6. third 3. thing 7. Thursday 4. thanks 8. three

Voiceless TH in the middle of a word: 1. bathtub 2. toothpick 3. birthday 4. healthy 5. something 6. anything 7. athlete

Voiceless TH at the end of a word: 1. math 2. tooth 3. teeth 4. tenth 5. ninth 6. fifth 8. breath 9. earth

Now, let's practice the voiced TH sound. Remember to use air and your voice to make this buzzing sound. Voiced TH at the beginning of a word: The voiced TH sound is common in English pronouns and demonstratives. 1. that 2. this 3. them 4. the 5. their 6. there 7. they're 8. those 9. they 10.these

Voiced TH in the middle of a word: 1. feather 2. weather 3. father 4. brother 5. mother 6. clothing 7. clothes 8. either 9. other 10. another

Voiced TH at the end of a word: 1. breathe 2. bathe 3. smooth

Finally, practice the sounds side-by-side Remember to voice the words in the green boxes and use only air for the words in the blue boxes! thin then think these third them Thanks either birthday brother bathtub clothing healthy worthy math smooth breath breathe

Now say these sentences out loud. 1) I think it is Thursday. 2) It is his thirteenth birthday today. 3) You can clean your teeth with a thin toothpick. 4) They should ask their father or their mother. 5) The other clothes are new. 6) There is another feather over there. 7) That thing is bigger than that other thing. 8) Those three boys will be three this Thursday, October ninth. 9) There is something in that dog's mouth. 10) My brother said the weather is warmer in the south than in the north.

To correctly pronounce the W sound, form your lips into a small, tight circle. It is important to hold your lips correctly. Imagine whistling or blowing out a candle. Use the same shape to form the letter W. Your jaw should be mostly closed to make the sound, but your teeth should not touch.

W = /w/: The most common way to spell the W sound is with a W. The W can be at the beginning, middle, or end of a word. 1) wow 2) woman 3) wife 4) now 5) flower 6) know 7) sweet 8) win

9) rewind 10) row 11) flow 12) towel 13) winter

The W sound is also sometimes spelled with the letters WH. 1) why 2) where 3) when 4) while 5) what 6) white

Important note: Not all WH words are pronounced as a W sound. When the WH is followed by the OO sound or the Long O sound, it is usually pronounced as an H only (like in the words her and him). Examples: (say these words with an H sound.) 1) who (WH + OO) 2) whom (WH + OO) 3) whole (WH + Long O)

The qu spelling is a K sound followed by a W sound. 1) quit 2) quick 3) quite 4) quiet 5) queen

Here two more words that have the W sound that do not follow the spelling rules above. 1) one 2) choir

1) Quick! Where is my wife? 2) I saw the queen in the winter. 3) We will win now. 4) Will the woman be quiet? 5) Now, what is that white flower? 7) William won the quick race. 8) I know he quit the choir. 9) Where is the wonderful queen? 10) Why doesn't this one taste sweet?