Have Some pronunciation questions

How do you guys pronounce s+th (or th+s) ?

For example, like,
- I was thinking
- He is thoughful

It's hard to pronounce 'th' part when speaking quickly.

'ai wA s inking' or 'ai wA thinking' ? Which one is correct ?


And another question.

How do you distinguish;
'Word' and 'World'
In my case, I pronounce those 'w3-d' and 'w3rl-d'
Am I correct ?


Waiting for your reply :-

<< How do you distinguish;
'Word' and 'World'
In my case, I pronounce those 'w3-d' and 'w3rl-d' >>

I pronounce both as 'w3rd'

<<'ai wA s inking' or 'ai wA thinking' ? Which one is correct ? >>

I say : /ai w@z "TiN kiN/

<<In my case, I pronounce those 'w3-d' and 'w3rl-d' >>

I say: /w3d/ and /w3ld/ or /"w3-rUld/

<< 'ai wA s inking' or 'ai wA thinking' ? Which one is correct ? >>

Neither one. The terminal sound in "was" is /z/, not /s/, and the vowel is @, not A. So it's /ai w@z "TiN kiN/, as Leasman said. On "world", I pronounce the "r" with the first vowel, not the second, and I pronounce the second part the same as I pronounce the word "old".

When I pronounce it, the /T/ becomes a dental plosive. Can any native speaker confirm this?

To feati,

Possible, but probably the majority of English dialects would not make the /T/ a plosive. (Perhaps some, such as in Wales or some African countries where English is spoken for business).

Personally though, I pronounce them exactly as written. My tongue slides from the 's' to the 'th', from the back of my mouth up to between my teeth, and distinguishes their sounds.

EXCEPT

In extremely rapid speech (and I mean VERY rapid) the 'th' becomes semi-elided with the 's'.

"He wassinking"

The two 'ss' are very sharp, like you're making a hissing noise for a snake.

Hope that helps.

(I am from the Midwest of the US just for reference)

For 'word' and 'world' you must make the 'r' in the very back of your throat for 'world' and more upfront for 'word'. There are definitely NOT pronounced the same among native English speakers.