NTH Cluster Practice Tip -- American English Pronunciation

Hi, I'm Tom Kelley, a Rachel's English teacher. And today's Practice Tip deals with that challenging

NTH cluster.

When I'm working with my students in my private lessons, I'm always really excited when this

topic comes up because it's something that can really make this cluster a lot easier

for people. And when they learn it, it's really exciting. So, when you have the N come before

a TH, for instance, in the word 'month', month, it can be challenging to make that N the way

we normally make the N, with the tongue tip up to the gum ridge, nn, and then slide it

down the teeth to the TH. TH, nnth, nnth.

So instead, what most native speakers will do, is they'll make the N with the tongue

tip out between the teeth. Nn, nn. What's happening there is just behind the tip of

my tongue is raising to the gum ridge for the N, and my tongue tip is already prepared

for that TH sound. Nth, nth, nth. So, month, month, becomes much easier.

Practice with me: month, month

tenth, tenth

nineteenth, nineteenth

And you can practice with a whole lot more words as well. I'll put a list down in the

description below of other words you can use for your practice.

That's all for today's practice tip. You can learn more about taking private lessons with

me here. I also offer pronunciation evaluations, where I help you identify and focus on your

specific pronunciation challenges.

Keep practicing, have fun, and thanks for watching Rachel's English.