I recently found this nice video by Heather Hansen on how to pronounce the sounds of "th" both voiceless and voiced. Basically she also points out how to use your teeth, tongue and voice box/ throat properly in order to make the sounds of "th"
How to Pronounce 'TH' - English Sound Practice (Heather Hansen)
I would like to add that you should try and feel your tongue touching your lower lip as you keep it between your teeth. Click here for the Voiced "Th" blog entry to review how to make it or click here for theVoiceless "Th" blog entry. I hope that this has been helpful. Let me know if you need any more help in improving your english pronunciation.
So making the letter "r" sound can be a little tricky, but by practicing with the previous consonant sounds, hopefully you will be able to follow the instructions to make the letter"r" sound. First of all, the letter "r" is a voiced sound, so you should use your throat area by vibrating it. In making the letter "r" sound you should imagine the letter "r" sound as being just at the opening of your throat and allowing the air and vibrations come out of your mouth. As for your tongue, you should feel the front of your tongue in a concave or "u" shape. With your tongue in a concave shape, you should feel it pushing against the middle of your upper palate or roof of the mouth. Remember that in the letter "n" sound, you will feel your tongue pushing against the area where your upper teeth and the roof of the mouth meet. In making the letter "r", your tongue should be further back in your mouth and pushing at the middle of the roof of the mouth. Your lips and teeth are apart and not touching one another. Finally, with your concave tongue pushing lightly against the middle of the roof of the mouth, vibrate your throat area and make the letter "r" sound. Things to remember: 1) Form the front of your tongue into a concave or "u" shape. 2) Have your lips and teeth apart. 3) Slightly push your concave tongue against the middle of the roof of your mouth or your upper palate 4) With your tongue slightly pushing against the roof of your mouth, vibrate your throat area or larynx and make the continuous sound of the letter "r" 5) You should not feel your tongue vibrating strongly and hitting against the roof of your mouth, because this will create the rolling "r" sound. Here are words you can practice with.
In pronouncing the letter "l" sound, you should review the sound of the letter "d". The letter "l" sound is a continuous and voiced sound. So, you should feel your throat vibrating when making the letter "l" sound. To make the letter "l" sound, you should have your lips and teeth apart and feel the tip of your tongue pushing against the area where your upper teeth and the roof of your mouth meet, just like the letter "d" or "t" sound. But, unlike the letter "d" and "t" sounds, you should only feel the tip of your tongue pushing against this intersection of your teeth and roof of the mouth. This will allow air and vibrations to come out of your mouth through the sides of your tongue. Now, vibrate your throat area or larynx to make the "l" sound. Things to remember: 1) You should feel your teeth and lips apart and the tip of your tongue pushing against the area where your upper teeth and the roof of your mouth meet. This is very important. Without this pushing movement, the "l" sound will not sound correct. 2) Only the tip of your tongue should be pushing, so that the air and vibrations can come through the sides of your tongue and out of your mouth. 3) The "l" sound is a voiced sound, so you should vibrate your larynx or throat area to make the "l" sound. Here are words you can practice with.
In this first part of discussing the pronunciation of "ng", I will be concentrating at how to pronounce the "ng" sound when "ng" is at the end of a word. When the "ng" is at the end of the word, it is a nasal sound just like the letters "m" and "n". As a nasal sound, the way to make the "ng" sound is very close to the way you make the "g" sound. So that you direct the vibrations from your throat to your nose, you need to close the opening from your throat with the back of your tongue. With the back of your tongue closing the opening from your throat, you vibrate your throat area or larynx. These vibrations are then sent to your nose because the air and vibrations can't leave through your mouth. When the "ng" is at the end of a word, then it is a complete nasal sound. But, when the "ng" is in the word itself, then it will sound differently. This sound will be explained in a future post. Things to remember: 1) Have your lips and teeth apart. 2) When the "ng" is at the end of the word, it is a pure nasal sound, so the sound is made through your nose. 3) You should feel the back of your tongue covering the opening from your throat to trap the vibrations and air. 4) The "ng" sound is a voiced sound, so you should vibrate your throat area or larynx to make the "ng" sound. Here are words you can practice with.
