Cant prononce words that end with ther

dddjjack   Wednesday, February 04, 2004, 01:57 GMT
I find it hard to prononce words that ends with "ther" like father, brother and etc. Its there anyway way of praticing it or way of pronouncing it?

thnx in a advance
Danni   Thursday, February 12, 2004, 14:44 GMT
The fricative sound of [th] is one that many non-native speakers find difficult. There are two different sounds -

[th] as in 'father'
[th] as in 'then'

The former is unvoiced. I would suggest putting the front/tip of your tongue against your upper teeth and then blowing (for unvoiced) or humming (for voiced) gently. This is rounghly how the two different sounds are articulated.

Then I would try to incorporate these sounds into the words you struggle with. At first, be dramatic. Over-pronounce the words, because this helps your mouth to 'learn' how to change between these sounds. I hope this helps :)

Danni x
A.S.C.M.   Friday, February 13, 2004, 01:34 GMT
Or you can try being a Cockney and say "bruvver".
Steve   Monday, February 16, 2004, 04:09 GMT
Mother
Father
Brother
Bother
other
rather
gather
another
together
leather
Steve   Monday, February 16, 2004, 04:13 GMT
''There are two different sounds -''

''[th] as in 'father'''
''[th] as in 'then',''

The ''th'' sound in ''father'' and the ''th'' sound in ''then'' are the same sound''. I think you mean the ''th'' sound ''either'' and the ''th'' sound in ''ether''.

either [i:TH..r] ''th'' sound in ''then''
ether [i:th..r] ''th'' sound in ''theater''