English Sounds - The Two TH Consonants [θ] and [ð]

In this American English pronunciation video  we're going to learn how to make the two th sounds.

These sounds are paired together because they take the same mouth position.

TH is unvoiced meaning only air passes through the mouth TH and TH

is voiced meaning you make a sound with the vocal cords.

The very tip of the tongue comes through the teeth. The air passes around the tongue. The tongue is  

relaxed. There shouldn't be any pressure in  the mouth or a stop quality to this sound.

Just nice and easy.

The tongue has to easily vibrate between the  teeth so keep the tongue soft and relaxed.

The lips don't affect this sound so they can  be transitioning to the next sound. For example  

in the thr cluster the lips will round a  little bit for the r as you make the th  

Three, three. Be careful with the tongue tip. Make sure it doesn't come too far forward. 

It's just the very tip that should come  between the teeth to make the unvoiced th,

the tongue tip absolutely has to come through the teeth.

But the voiced th can be different. When it's  in an unstressed quick word like these or the  

The tongue tip doesn't have to come through the  teeth. It can press behind the teeth make sure  

the tongue isn't at the roof of the mouth or  pointing down but pressing right in the middle

where the teeth come together. If it's not in the right position the sound will be wrong.

This tongue shortcut works in these words because  they're unstressed so when you don't bring your  

tongue tip through the teeth it allows you to  make these less important words quickly. These,  

the. Let's look at these sounds up close  and in slow motion. Notice how it's just  

the very tip that comes out of the teeth.  The tongue is relaxed the teeth surround it  

but they're not clamping down on it. The lips  and face are relaxed throw notice how the lips  

are starting to flare for the r as the tongue  comes through the teeth for the unvoiced th.

Birthday. Keep in mind when you only stick the  very tip of your tongue out the movement into  

other sounds isn't as hard as you might think. Watch the tongue tip come in and flip up for the d.  

This is a quick move of the tongue that you can  practice over and over to make it more natural.

Brother. Tongue tip through the teeth for  the voiced th lips and tongue are relaxed.

Worth. Ending in the unvoiced th. Again  the lips and tongue look very relaxed.

Remember to keep your tongue relaxed  and soft when you practice this sound. 

The voiced and unvoiced th.

throw

birthday

brother

worth

Example words repeat with me.

other

other

either

either

though

though

Thursday

Thursday

nothing

nothing

south

south