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How to distinguish th and f sound? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
 jeff_lindqvist Diglot Moderator SwedenRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6915 days ago 4250 posts - 5711 votes  Speaks: Swedish*, English Studies: German, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, Mandarin, Esperanto, Irish, French Personal Language Map | Message 17 of 32 01 May 2009 at 9:25pm | IP Logged |
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http://www.english-online.org.uk/pronounce/pronounce22.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pronunciation_of_English_th Lesson 1a TH ...and so on. Just search for "th pronunciation". 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Louiza Newbie United Kingdom Joined 5721 days ago 2 posts - 2 votes Studies: German, Spanish | Message 18 of 32 02 May 2009 at 7:48pm | IP Logged |
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I wouldn't worry if you can't tell the difference between 'th' and 'f', because I'm pretty sure the majority of English people wouldn't notice.
I can't tell the difference between 'f' and 'th', but then maybe its a regional/class thing. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Earle Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 6321 days ago 276 posts - 276 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: Norwegian, Spanish | Message 19 of 32 02 May 2009 at 8:05pm | IP Logged |
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Let me caution that it's not safe to rely on some of the native English speakers saying that they are indistinguishable. There is no part of the USA (largest English-speaking area) where the sounds merge. Because of that background, I'm a bit taken aback that there are English speakers who are unable to distinguish...
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| Ashiro Groupie United Kingdom learnxlanguage.com/ Joined 5808 days ago 89 posts - 101 votes Studies: Spanish | Message 20 of 32 02 May 2009 at 8:08pm | IP Logged |
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The "th" sound is something even native speakers take a while to pick up. I remember having a problem myself when I was about 5. My mum was having to correct me because my "free" sounded like my "three".
As has already been described but I'll re-iterate. "f" - the tongue is relaxed in the back of the mouth but the lips come together slightly to say the "f" "th" - similar but in this case the tongue starts at the back of the top teeth. As you say "th" you pull the tongue back fast. You do still get native English speakers who don't differentiate between the two but they atre normally the....less educated. For a foreigner to not be able to pronounce it wouldn't be seen that way though. Don't worry too much about it. :) 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| crackpot Triglot Senior Member Canada Joined 6307 days ago 144 posts - 178 votes Speaks: English*, French, Spanish Studies: Italian | Message 21 of 32 03 May 2009 at 2:56am | IP Logged |
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This can certainly be corrected. The longer you have been studying English the harder it will be to correct though. It's easier to learn something the right way the first time than to have to unlearn it and then relearn it.
Have a native speaking teacher write down the following for example: 1.thin 2.fin Then have him say one of the words to you and you have to tell him which he said 1 or 2. Once you are getting those all right, have him insert words with the problematic sounds into sentences and do the same thing. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Earle Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 6321 days ago 276 posts - 276 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: Norwegian, Spanish | Message 22 of 32 03 May 2009 at 7:20am | IP Logged |
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It appears to me that there is a clear division between the UK and the USA here. I don't think there are any native English speakers in the USA who don't differentiate the sounds. (You Canadians tell me if it's "North America," instead of USA...)
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| Minder Newbie United States Joined 5768 days ago 11 posts - 11 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish, Japanese | Message 23 of 32 03 May 2009 at 7:04pm | IP Logged |
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If someone spoke using f instead of th i would very easily hear the difference. Anyone planning on learning English please take note that those advising that you don't need to learn the distinction are wrong. I have never in my life heard a native speaker without a speech impediment make mistakes with f/th. Maybe somewhere there are native speakers who don't make the distiction, and if the people advising are from there, then my apologies, but the vast majority of native English speakers will know the difference and will hear the error.
About HVPT. I think it could be done using movies. If we could make a list of the different sounds in each language that are tough for learners and find words pairs that showcase the difference, we could just find those words in different movies and strip the audio. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| spykel Diglot Groupie Canada Joined 5833 days ago 40 posts - 48 votes Speaks: English*, French Studies: Scottish Gaelic | Message 24 of 32 07 May 2009 at 2:32pm | IP Logged |
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Yes Earle, Canadians also differentiate these sounds. In fact, I don't think I've ever heard someone confuse them
before. Consider pairs like fought / thought, fin / thin or with / whiff. Are they pronounced the same way in some dialects of the United Kingdom? What about v and the voiced th? I think someone has already mentioned this, but there is a physiological difference between the way these sounds are produced. F is a labiodental fricative, i.e. place your bottom lip against your upper teeth and blow out air. The unvoiced th is a linguadental fricative, i.e. place your tongue against the back of your upper teeth and blow out air. Bottom lip vs tongue. Similarly for v and the voiced th, except that they are accompanied by a vibration. Before this forum topic, I'd never considered how similar these sounds are. I can see how they'd be difficult for a learner to pick up. But they are important to distinguish, for North American English and I'd imagine for most others as well. Edited by spykel on 07 May 2009 at 2:33pm 1 person has voted this message useful |
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