Lesson 5

Lesson 5 Contrasting /θ/ as in thin and /t/ as in tin and /ð/ as in they and /d/ as in day
The sounds /t/ and /d/ are not among the critical sounds for most Filipino speakers of
English because they are part of the sound systems of the different Philippine languages. These
sounds are in fact used as substitutes for the soft and hard th sounds (as in thin and they) which
are considered critical sounds. Thus, instead of saying thin, many would say tin. Likewise, some
Filipino speakers of English pronounce they as day.
The soft th or /θ/ is a voiceless lingua-dental fricative while /t/ is a voiceless alveolar
plosive. As a fricative, /θ/ is articulated with an exhalation of air but because it is voiceless, there
should be no vibration in the throat. It is also a lingua-dental sound which means that the tongue
articulates with the teeth. You should feel your tongue slightly touching your lower lip as you
position its tip in between your teeth and let the blade rest against the lower part of the back of
the upper teeth. Then you blow air through the lip, tongue and teeth formation to make the soft
th sound.
Let’s try it. Say /θ/, thin, something, broth, mouth, theme, anthem.
On the other hand, /t/ is a voiceless plosive or stop; thus, it is produced by blocking the
air with your tongue behind your upper teeth and suddenly releasing it with no vibration in the
vocal cords. Thus, while you slowly release the air in articulating /θ/ as you position your tongue
between the teeth, /t/ is produced by releasing air blocked by your tongue positioned behind your
upper teeth. The puff of air produced along with the insertion of the sound of h also creates an
aspiration that happens in the English stops, p,t, and k at the beginning of words. Try saying pot,
tap, cat with the initial sounds clearly aspirated.
Let’s try to contrast /θ/ and /t/ in the following words. Don’t forget to aspirate the initial t.
bat bath tank thank trust thrust
tin thin fort forth fate faith
In addition to aspiration happening to t when at the beginning of words and when

followed by vowels, medial t is pronounced as soft /d/ as in the words letter, matter, better,
pretty. In addition, when the primary stress is on the syllable bearing the letter t, it retains its
pronunciation but it becomes soft d when that syllable is not stressed. For example, it’s / ‘ɪdəli/
but / ɪ’tæljən/.
Like /θ/, the hard th or /ð /as in the word they is not present in the Filipino alphabet and
the sound systems of Philippine languages. Consequently, it is substituted with the nearest sound
/d/. To contrast the two sounds, it is important to look at how they are articulated. The hard th (ð)
is articulated like /θ/, i.e., it is lingua-dental fricative. Its manner of articulation is fricative where
air is slowly released through an opening formed by the tongue, teeth and lip formation. In
contrast to /θ/ though, /ð/ is a voiced sound which means the vocal cords vibrate. As to the point
of articulation, the tip of the tongue is against the back of the upper teeth unlike the soft th where
the tongue tip slightly protrudes between the teeth. Try to articulate /ð/ and say the, them,
brother, bathe.
Meanwhile, /d/ is articulated in the same manner as /t/. Position your tongue tip behind
the upper teeth then release the tongue allowing air to rush through. But while /t/ is voiceless, /d/
is voiced which means there is vibration in the voice box.
Again, let’s try to contrast /ð / and /d/ by reading the minimal pairs below.
dare their day they load loathe
fodder father breed breathe wordy worthy
Note that e is added to turn nouns into verbs like bath-bathe, teeth-teethe, mouth-mouthe.
In this case, the /θ/ ending becomes /ð/. Let’s read the words below to contrast the /θ/ and /ð/
ending in nouns and verbs.
loth loathe bath bathe sheath sheathe
wreath wreathe sooth soothe mouth mouthe
teeth teethe
______________________________________________________________________________
Drills
Read the minimal pairs to contrast /θ/, /t/, /ð/ and /d/.
Debt - death tread - thread taught - thought
Tree - three pat - path tick - thick
Sued - soothe read - wreathe doe - though
Dough - though dine - thine seed - seethe
Read the words with phrases and sentences clearly contrasting /θ/, /t/, /ð/ and /d/.
1. through thick and thin

2. thin lather
3. soothing bath lather
4. their other older brother
5. thirty-three thirsty theater people
6. The main thrust of his defense was his employees’ trust in him.
7. The little girl tied a tiny ribbon around her thin thigh.
8. These thousand tricky tongue twisters trip thrillingly off the tongue.
9. The leader left the leather in the corner near the ladder.
10. This is the day they came.
11. Such a wordy piece isn’t worthy of the prize it got.
12. The kids always take a bath after their swim. They usually bathe in record time.
13. Thank the artists for music that soothes the nerves.
14. Thank the other three brothers of their father’s mother’s brother’s side.
15. Lesser weather never weathered wetter weather better.
Read the poem.
The Sounds of d and /ð/
D and /ð/ are two different things
Though at times they sound the same,
When you and I don’t use our ears.
We say Dan when we mean than;
And den when we mean then.
“This book is mine and that is yours.”

Are habits we can easily form
By saying this and that many times,
“This is mine” and “That is yours.”
“I would rather have this dish
Though that one is the best.”
Are also good practice drills
For those who say den instead of then.

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Lesson 5 Contrasting /θ/ as in thin and /t/ as in tin and /ð/ as in they and /d/ as in day

bat bath tank thank trust thrust

tin thin fort forth fate faith

In addition to aspiration happening to t when at the beginning of words and when

dare their day they load loathe

fodder father breed breathe wordy worthy

loth loathe bath bathe sheath sheathe

wreath wreathe sooth soothe mouth mouthe

Debt - death tread - thread taught - thought

Tree - three pat - path tick - thick

Sued - soothe read - wreathe doe - though

Dough - though dine - thine seed - seethe

1. through thick and thin

Read the poem.

The Sounds of d and /ð/

D and /ð/ are two different things

Though at times they sound the same,

When you and I don’t use our ears.

We say Dan when we mean than;

And den when we mean then.

“This book is mine and that is yours.”

By saying this and that many times,

“This is mine” and “That is yours.”

“I would rather have this dish

Though that one is the best.”

Are also good practice drills

For those who say den instead of then.

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