Diss and That

Oh, the heartbreak of the TH.  Why oh why did we invent this godforsaken sound?  What evil character in history decided we should put our tongue between our teeth when speaking?  Why can't I just keep touching my tongue to the roof of my mouth?  Will this riddle of the ages ever be solved?

We'll leave the riddles and mysteries to the CSI but for now we need to address the issue at hand, correctly pronouncing TH.  This is VERY important for your English.    

As I've told all my students, this is done by bringing our tongue between the bottom and top teeth, blocking the air and then releasing to get that sweet, sweet "th"  sound found in "Mother", "Father", "Brother", "Sis..." hmm, not sure what sister's problem is (sister was always a troublemaker) but basically without the TH, we'd have no family!  Think about that for a moment... 

Ok, now back to how to make that sound.  I say put the tongue between the teeth but I recently realized that often, I often do not do that at all.  Sometimes I put my tongue between my bottom lip and top teeth.  Sometimes, my tongue is even behind my top teeth.  My tongue is all over the place... But it is never at the roof of my mouth and that is where 99% of mistakes are made.  Stay away from the roof of your mouth!

If you want to do a neat experiment, (By "neat" I mean, maybe you want to find a room that you can hide in while doing this so your co-workers or friends don't think you're crazy.) start making TH sounds with your tongue touching the bottom lip and top teeth. 

Go ahead, DO IT!  

TH, TH, TH, TH...ok, now start moving your tongue slowly back and up.  TH, TH, TH, keep making that sound and bring the tongue between the teeth TH, TH, TH and now drop the bottom teeth and keep making the sound with just the top teeth and the tongue TH, TH, TH and slide the tongue back behind the top teeth TH, TH, TH then move it up slowly TH, TH, D, D, D... you just reached the roof of your mouth and the sound changed. Now you know where it turns from TH to D.  That is your NO-GO area when pronouncing TH.  Play around and find the area you like best and fear the tyranny of the TH no more.

Ok, I've explained one side of the TH pronunciation but there is more information here from Rachel's English that should be helpful.  She's the expert.