April 17, 2025
The “TH” Sound
In the word “health”, “th” is pronounced as the /θ/ sound. But when I pronounce /θ/ (with the top of my tongue between my upper teeth and lower teeth and forcing the air in my mouth to get through the gaps between the upper teeth and my tongue), it sounds like I am pronouncing the /s/ sound.
Every time I listen to Americans say the word “health”, it sounds like they are pronouncing “th” as the /f/ sound.
When I say “health” with the /θ/ sound for “th”, it is very different from how Americans say it. When I say “th” as the /f/ sound, it sounds almost exactly the same as how Americans say it.
I have recorded my pronunciation and compared it with Americans' many times.
I have been confused.
The “TH” Sound
In the word “health”, “th” is pronounced as the /θ/ sound.
But when I pronounce /θ/ (with the top of my tongue between my upper teeth and lower teeth and forcing the air in my mouth to get through the gaps between the upper teeth and my tongue), it sounds like I am pronouncing the /s/ sound.
I'm going to assume that the /s/ sound that you are talking about is similar to the shi (し) sound in Japanese (specifically the Tokyo dialect). If that's the case, then it's possible that you just need to curve your tongue a little more (like a taco, but not curved to that extent). An /f/ sound is somewhat accurate, but we don't bring up our lower lip to our top teeth (like we do when actually pronouncing /f/)
Every time I listen to Americans say the word “health”, it sounds like they are pronouncing “th” as the /f/ sound.
When I say “health” with the /θ/ sound for “th”, it is very different from how Americans say it.
When I say “th” as the /f/ sound, it sounds almost exactly the same as how Americans say it.
I have recorded my pronunciation and compared it with Americans' many times.
I have beenam confused.
Feedback
I just learned that "th" makes 2 different sounds depending on what word it's in. The "th" in "health," or "that" is different than the "th" in "that" or "this."
April 19, 2025
Thank you very much.
The “TH” Sound
In the word “health”, “th” is pronounced as the /θ/ sound.
But when I pronounce /θ/ (with the top of my tongue between my upper teeth and lower teeth and forcing the air in my mouth to get through the gaps between the upper teeth and my tongue), it sounds like I am pronouncing the /s/ sound.
Every time I listen to Americans say the word “health”, it sounds like they are pronouncing “th” as the /f/ sound.
Indeed, as an American, I'm noticing that I pronounce the "th" at the end of "health" by touching my upper teeth with my bottom lip instead of my tongue, which produces an "f" sound instead. So, yeah, we really are pronouncing it /f/ instead of /θ/.
When I say “health” with the /θ/ sound for “th”, it is very different from how Americans say it.
When I say “th” as the /f/ sound, it sounds almost exactly the same as how Americans say it.
I have recorded my pronunciation and compared it with Americans' many times.
I have been'm confused.
Or perhaps "I have been confused by this". "I have been confused" on its own is a little strange.
In the word “health”, “th” is pronounced as the /θ/ sound.
This is one that varies a lot by region and dialect. My own (Irish) regional accent has "th" as /t̪/ , there are other accents in my country where it is is /d/. A lot of British English speakers on the other hand have a lot of difficulty distinguishing /t̪/ and /d/ , which results in them thinking all Irish people use d all the time.
Every time I listen to Americans say the word “health”, it sounds like they are pronouncing “th” as the /f/ sound.
When I say “th” as the /f/ sound, it sounds almost exactly the same as how Americans say it.
I'm not great at IPA, but google says /f/ is the "f" sound in English. "Healf" definitely sounds wrong to me, though wikipedia tells me some African American Vernacular English (AAVE - a dialect of English spoken by some black americans) speakers do this.
Feedback
I wonder, are all these sounds used in your native language? It's often confusing for learners when trying to distinguish the difference between sounds where the difference is unimportant in their native language. Like I'm learning Japanese and Japanese has an "r" sound in らりるれろ that is partway between the English "r" and "l" sounds, which causes a lot of confusion for learners in both directions.
April 17, 2025
Thank you very much. There is no /θ/ sound in my native language.
I have been confused.
I'm not sure what you mean here. If you mean you are confused about this topic in general you would probably say something like "I am still confused" or just "I am confused." If you mean that the comparison confused me you could say "It confused me" or "It's confusing"
April 17, 2025
Thank you very much. I am confused about the pronunciation of the word “health”given by Americans.
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But when I pronounce /θ/ (with the top of my tongue between my upper teeth and lower teeth and forcing the air in my mouth to get through the gaps between the upper teeth and my tongue), it sounds like I am pronouncing the /s/ sound. This sentence has been marked as perfect! But when I pronounce /θ/ (with the top of my tongue between my upper teeth and lower teeth and forcing the air in my mouth to get through the gaps between the upper teeth and my tongue), it sounds like I am pronouncing the /s/ sound. I'm going to assume that the /s/ sound that you are talking about is similar to the shi (し) sound in Japanese (specifically the Tokyo dialect). If that's the case, then it's possible that you just need to curve your tongue a little more (like a taco, but not curved to that extent). An /f/ sound is somewhat accurate, but we don't bring up our lower lip to our top teeth (like we do when actually pronouncing /f/) |
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Every time I listen to Americans say the word “health”, it sounds like they are pronouncing “th” as the /f/ sound. Every time I listen to Americans say the word “health”, it sounds like they are pronouncing “th” as the /f/ sound. Every time I listen to Americans say the word “health”, it sounds like they are pronouncing “th” as the /f/ sound. Indeed, as an American, I'm noticing that I pronounce the "th" at the end of "health" by touching my upper teeth with my bottom lip instead of my tongue, which produces an "f" sound instead. So, yeah, we really are pronouncing it /f/ instead of /θ/. This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
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When I say “health” with the /θ/ sound for “th”, it is very different from how Americans say it. This sentence has been marked as perfect! This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
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When I say “th” as the /f/ sound, it sounds almost exactly the same as how Americans say it. When I say “th” as the /f/ sound, it sounds almost exactly the same as how Americans say it. I'm not great at IPA, but google says /f/ is the "f" sound in English. "Healf" definitely sounds wrong to me, though wikipedia tells me some African American Vernacular English (AAVE - a dialect of English spoken by some black americans) speakers do this. This sentence has been marked as perfect! This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
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I have recorded my pronunciation and compared it with Americans' many times. This sentence has been marked as perfect! This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
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I have been confused. I have been confused. I'm not sure what you mean here. If you mean you are confused about this topic in general you would probably say something like "I am still confused" or just "I am confused." If you mean that the comparison confused me you could say "It confused me" or "It's confusing" I Or perhaps "I have been confused by this". "I have been confused" on its own is a little strange. I |
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The “TH” Sound This sentence has been marked as perfect! This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
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In the word “health”, “th” is pronounced as the /θ/ sound. In the word “health”, “th” is pronounced as the /θ/ sound. This is one that varies a lot by region and dialect. My own (Irish) regional accent has "th" as /t̪/ , there are other accents in my country where it is is /d/. A lot of British English speakers on the other hand have a lot of difficulty distinguishing /t̪/ and /d/ , which results in them thinking all Irish people use d all the time. This sentence has been marked as perfect! This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
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