Pronunciation of th after s

[Leeearn]

Hi there. Can you listen my record and tell me - is my pronouciation of this sounds together correct?
https://vocaroo.com/i/s1c3zzqgl67x

 

[teechar]

Hello Leeearn, and welcome to the forum.

Hi there. Can you listen to my recording and tell me [STRIKE]- is[/STRIKE] whether my pronunciation [STRIKE]of this sounds together[/STRIKE] is correct?
https://vocaroo.com/i/s1c3zzqgl67x

I think you're saying:
Nice thing.
Is this your thing?

Am I right?

 

[Leeearn]

you're right, so does it sounds correctly?

 

[teechar]

You're right, so does it sound correct? [STRIKE]sounds correctly?[/STRIKE]

The first one is okay. In the second, the "z" sound in the "is" sounds more like an "s". It sounds like you're saying "iss this your thing?"

 

[Leeearn]

try this
https://vocaroo.com/i/s0qgSyAcTZg4

 

[GoesStation]

The consonants in is and this are good. A stray vowel slips in between them but it doesn't reduce comprehensibility.

 

[Leeearn]

thank you. These sounds are difficult for me

 

[Rover_KE]

Thank you. These sounds are difficult for me.

Please take more care with your capitalisation and punctuation.

 

[teechar]

A stray vowel slips in between them

It's very slight, and I think it can be overcome with a little practice.

 

[probus]

In some single words such as aesthetic the problem is the same and you will have to work on it Leeearn. But luckily there are some single words in which the th sound disappears, for example asthma and isthmus, pronounced asma and ismus. Can anybody think of more of these?

 

[probus]

Not disputing with you at all Fishy. Glad to have your advice as always.

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/pronunciation/english/isthmus

In the above from the Cambridge dictionary I feel I can make out just the tiniest "th", but it is so slight I am unsure. In the corresponding entry for asthma I hear no "th" at all.

I think few if any speakers of AmE pronounce these "th"s at all.

 

[emsr2d2]

Like the majority* of speakers of BrE, I pronounce the /θ/ in asthma. Unlike the majority*, I also pronounce it in isthmus.

* According to the Longman Pronunciation Dictionary.

I pronounce the "th" in "isthmus" but not in "asthma". I can't tell you why!

 

[probus]

I pronounce the "th" in "isthmus" but not in "asthma". I can't tell you why!

And I think that was exactly what the pronunciations in the Cambridge Dictionary indicated. EMS, is your th in isthmus as slight as theirs?

 

[emsr2d2]

I don't think the "th" in the UK version in that recording is slight​. It's very clear to me. It's pretty much how I would say it.

 

[Rover_KE]

I can't say isthmus unless I rhyme it with Christmas—ignoring the th altogether.

 

[NYCT]

Hi there. Can you listen my record and tell me - is my pronouciation of this sounds together correct?
https://vocaroo.com/i/s1c3zzqgl67x

Hi Leeearn,

Great work. They are tricky sounds - you're right. The first sentence was clear, however I lost the second sentence.

It's tricky because the 's' is voiced and the 'th' is unvoiced.

When practicing, one thing you could try is slow it right down and feel how the 's' sound is voiced and that you need to change to the unvoiced 'th.' Really overemphasize the 's', then really over emphasize the 'th' and play around with feeling the difference.

Then bring it back to normal. It's the 'th' sound you really want to work.

good luck!

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Hi there. Can you listen to my recording and tell me whether my pronuciation is correct?
https://vocaroo.com/i/s1c3zzqgl67x

You're close. As Teechar says, the S in is should sound like a Z.