Pronunciation lessons in English
15Jul2010 Filed under: Anything Else Author: ElderAfter realizing that my accent was terrible I decided to look for some free lessons on Internet and luckily I’ve stumbled on this interesting video.
This teacher (Dave Sconda) reminds me of Jim Carrey, I kinda like his teaching style heh heh
However, I am wondering, are all Americans pronounce ‘th’ with their tongue? Or is it only a certain class of people? I watch regularly movies in English and it never seemed obvious to me that actors are pronouncing with the tip of their tongue even if very subtle. If you articulate with the tongue in French you’re sure to repel woman haha
Well, I just want to make sure I can follow this lesson without sounding weird after a few weeks :)
Elder
July 15th, 2010 at 4:05 am
Thank you in advance for your help!
Fridgecrisis
July 15th, 2010 at 12:05 pm
Hey Elder. I’m pretty sure that all Americans pronounce the ‘th’ sound with their tongue in that position. The reason you don’t notice it is probably because it happens very quickly, and the guy in the video makes his tongue very obvious. After practicing on my own, I notice that my tongue just BARELY passes my teeth–if I bit down on my tongue at that moment for some reason, I’d be missing just a tiny bit. But I’ve been speaking English my whole life, so I’ve had a lot of practice! I wouldn’t worry too much about offending anyone with your tongue out a little bit like that. The faster you’re able to talk, the less obvious your tongue is, until finally, you’ll be like those movie stars and no one will be able to tell. :)
Fridgecrisis
July 15th, 2010 at 12:07 pm
Well, “all Americans” is kind of a strange term to use. I guess I should say, I don’t see how it’s possible to make the ‘th’ sound in common American English without using your tongue like that. :D
Kristen
July 15th, 2010 at 2:29 pm
Yea, everyone uses the tip of their tongue, but not nearly as much as that guy. He is very much over-exaggerating.
The tongue is mostly on the inside of your mouth, with the tip of it just touching the bottom inside of your teeth.
Kristen
July 15th, 2010 at 2:30 pm
If you ever make your way to Montreal, we can teach you anything about pronunciation you need to know :)
Andrzej
July 19th, 2010 at 4:36 pm
Hehe, try English-English sometimes, it’s funny (and at some occassions, it’s really good when trying to offend someone or order around, it sounds kind of more aggressive and authoritative xD)