Th Sounds
The two sounds of th, /θ/ in think and /ð/ in this, and how to stop them becoming t and d.
th වලට ශබ්ද දෙකක් තියෙනවා. දෙකටම දිවේ අග දත් දෙක අතරට එන්න ඕනේ. /θ/ (think) හඬ නැතුව හුළඟ විතරයි. /ð/ (this) උගුර කම්පනය වෙනවා. ත සහ ද කිව්වොත් three, tree වගේ වචන එක වගේ ඇහෙනවා.
These are the sounds people notice first in Sri Lankan English. We swap them for ත and ද, so think becomes "tink" and this becomes "dis". Most listeners still understand you, but some pairs really do get mixed up: three and tree, thank and tank, they and day.
How to make them
- Put the tip of your tongue lightly between your top and bottom teeth. You should be able to see it in a mirror.
- For /θ/, blow air over your tongue. No voice. Put your hand on your throat: it stays still.
- For /ð/, do the same and add your voice. Your throat buzzes under your hand.
- Don't bite. The tongue just rests there, and the air slips past it.
Which one? Small, common words (the, this, that, they, them, there, then, though) and words with th between two vowels (mother, father, weather) use /ð/. Most other words (think, three, thank, thing, month, birthday, health) use /θ/.
Hear the difference
- three /θriː/ · tree /triː//θ/ or /t/
- thank /θæŋk/ · tank /tæŋk//θ/ or /t/
- thin /θɪn/ · tin /tɪn//θ/ or /t/
- they /ðeɪ/ · day /deɪ//ð/ or /d/
- then /ðen/ · den /den//ð/ or /d/
In a sentence
- My birthday is on the third of next month.
- Thank you for all your help.
- My mother and father live in Galle.
Practise with a tongue twister
Three smart fellows, they all felt smart.
- /θ/
- /f/
I thought I thought of thinking of thanking you.
- /θ/
- /ð/
More th practice: common tongue twisters and the difficult ones.
Quick check
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Which th is in they?
Which th is in three?
Where does your tongue go for th?
What's the difference between tree and three?
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