U.S. English Pronunciation - Lesson 4: /f/, /θ/, /s/

U.S. English Pronunciation
Lesson 4: /f/, /θ/, /s/

The goal of this course is to present English pronunciation in simple, easy-to-understand terms. However to give an adequate explanation of English consonants, Lesson 1 outlines some basic linguistic information.


For this lesson, let's start by reviewing some background information:

Consonants in any language are the result of the brief stoppage or restriction of airflow in speech at different 'points of articulation'. While one is speaking, the vocal chords are either vibrated (voiced), or not (voiceless).

Fricatives:

These are produced with a restriction, but not a complete stoppage, of airflow

Voiceless fricatives:

Consonants, including fricatives, pronounced while vibrating the voicebox are "voiced" while "voiceless" consonants are pronounced without vibrating the voicebox. If you are not familiar with this distinction, try holding your hand lightly over your voicebox while pronouncing. If you are pronouncing voiced sounds you will feel a vibration, voiceless sounds have no vibration and are almost like a whisper. All vowels are voiced, but consonants vary. In English, as with many other languages, voicing creates important distinctions between sounds. Take, for example, the first sound described in the following lesson: /f/. It is essentially the same as the sound /v/ except for voicing (more on /v/ later).

The voiceless fricatives in English are:

/f/, /θ/, and /s/



/f/ is a 'labiodental' consonant. In other words, it is pronounced by bringing the top teeth and bottom lips together to restrict airflow. It is most often represented by the letter 'f' in English words, but can vary (I plan to cover some of the particular difficulties with English spelling variations in later lessons, but for now, let's focus on the basics).

Examples:

word initial:

Fall

Fact


part of a consonant cluster:

Friday

Fly


word final:

Giraffe

Graph

Laugh


The next consonant sound we will cover is often represented by the letters 'th' in English words. However, linguists often refer to pronounced sounds by their International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) symbol [link to Wikipedia backgrounder]. The IPA symbol we are covering here is θ.

/θ/ is referred to as an 'interdental' consonant. In other words, it is pronounced by placing the tip of the tongue between the teeth, restricting airflow. It is pronounced without voicing.


Examples:

word initial:

Thought

Thursday



Part of a consonant cluster:

Fourth

Fifth



Word final:

Bath

With


/s/ is referred to as an 'alveolar' consonant. In other words, it is pronounced by placing the tip of the tongue on the roof of the mouth just behind the teeth, restricting airflow. Its 'point of articulation' is the same as that of /t/ and /d/ [links to previous lessons].
It is pronounced without voicing.

/s/ is most often represented by the letter 's' in English words.

Examples:

word initial:

Seven

Saturday

Sunday


Part of a consonant cluster:

Start

Screen

Sled


Word final:

Bass

Cross


Lesson 5: /v/, /ð/, /z/ -->





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