I have problems pronouncing words that starts with the letters Th ?

[belfpala]

OP go to vocaroo.com and record yourself saying the words you have trouble with and link it back here.
this is how i say it: http://vocaroo.com/i/s17oB985bKZ3

You're using what I would call a modified "S" in place of the "TH". But unless I'm a lazy idiot, I would understand that immediately. Thin, Thick.

[Ravenshadows]

I had the same issue as a kid i did f instead of th, way i learned to fix it was a tongue press and peanutbutter just press it down and atempt it, mind ya i had help of speech therapist

[belfpala]

English uses both the thorn and the theta.. it's funny that way. German might have one or the other, though I'm not certain on modern german, as the thorn came more from low german than anywhere else iirc. but they probably had their own letter for it, which is why thorn became so forgotten (the typeset was, iirc, even a german one xD)

Well yeah, English, German, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish, (i'm not forgetting anyone on purpose, I just need to cut the list short). They were all dialects of the same language, just 1000 years ago.

[Scooby Dooby Doo]

OP go to vocaroo.com and record yourself saying the words you have trouble with and link it back here.
this is how i say it: http://vocaroo.com/i/s17oB985bKZ3

Alright I just did that.
Volume warning.
Background noise warning. (2 Dollar newegg mic)
http://vocaroo.com/i/s0FUF2PL0t58.

Thank's for the great replies so far. I'm from the German )or Swiss dialect German speaking) part of Switzerland. My mothers side of the family speaks Romansh though.

[Deleted]

You're using what I would call a modified "S" in place of the "TH". But unless I'm a lazy idiot, I would understand that immediately. Thin, Thick.

hmm. i've heared the english speak like that. background noise might be distorting the sound a bit as well. what about this: http://vocaroo.com/i/s0wN2tfxcpkM ?

[Deleted]

Hello everybody.

Short background story: I spent the last 4.5 years in the US. I'm married to an us citizen (I'm from Switzerland) and i learned the English language with the help of my wife and the Rosetta stone program.

Now I've always been aware of the fact that for some reason..I'm incapable of pronouncing certain English words. Mostly words that start with the letters TH like three/tree/the/thin/thick/theoretically.

I've never seen that as a major problem until today's quite humiliating encounter.(Always bothered me though)

I went to the store with my step daughter and that's what happened.

Me: I would like 20 slices of thin cut roast beef.
Deli Clerk: what?
Me: 20 thin slices of roast beef.
Deli Clerk: I don't understand what you want.
Me: Thin slices of roast beef?
Deli Clerk: Sorry what?
Me: Thin ? The opposite of Thick?
Deli Clerk: huh?
Me: Thin cut. T-H-I-N.
Deli Clerk: Sorry I can't understand you.
My Stepdaughter: He means thin. Thin slices of roast beef.
Deli Clerk: Oh ok. Sorry.

To be honest I have no idea how I could possibly get rid of that pronunciation problem?

if the dialoge went as that, even with the worst pronunciation ever. after you said 'the opposite of thick' it was perfectly clear what you were intending to say, i would say the person in the store was probably not quite as bright as you are or being intentionally difficult because they are some kind of douche or douche like creature. plus of course theres the fact that slices of beef can only really come in 1 of 2 forms, thin slices or thick slices... so it was doubly obvious what you were after

[Deleted]

Alright I just did that.
Volume warning.
Background noise warning. (2 Dollar newegg mic)
http://vocaroo.com/i/s0FUF2PL0t58

Honestly, I have no idea how that guy couldn't have understood that. I'm pretty sure he was just being an ass.

[belfpala]

Alright I just did that.

Alright, I blame an idiot clerk now. That was clearly "thin, thick".

[Deleted]

Alright I just did that.
Volume warning.
Background noise warning. (2 Dollar newegg mic)
http://vocaroo.com/i/s0FUF2PL0t58.

Thank's for the great replies so far. I'm from the German )or Swiss dialect German speaking) part of Switzerland. My mothers side of the family speaks Romansh though.

Yea, he was just being a dick to you.

[Deleted]

hmm. i've heared the english speak like that. background noise might be distorting the sound a bit as well. what about this: http://vocaroo.com/i/s0wN2tfxcpkM ?

You'd get the scouse seal of approval if you dragged that k out a bit more, the guy on the till was a douche, you sound fine.

[MerinPally]

Alright I just did that.
Volume warning.
Background noise warning. (2 Dollar newegg mic)
http://vocaroo.com/i/s0FUF2PL0t58.

That's the most obvious thing I've ever heard. This is evidence you should just move back to Europe instead.

[belfpala]

You'd get the scouse seal of approval if you dragged that k out a bit more, the guy on the till was a douche, you sound fine.

Or maybe what some US people do when abroad. Just talk LOUDER and SLOOOOOWER because OBVIOUSLY this guy who only speaks Italian is an IDIOT.

(that's a joke).

One of my lifechanging moments, in Italy. I walked up to a shop keeper:

Me: Hi, what time is it?
Him: /looks at his watch, clucks at me.
Me: Do you know the time?
Him: /laughs.
Me: /confused
Him: First, you say buon giorno. Then you ask me the time.
Me: oh...

[Binary Speaker]

I think she was trying to make fun of your accent you shouldve said fuck you bitch and called the manager and demand compensation for bad service.

Doesn't sound like it really. I mean I'm a cashier and sometimes people's accents make understanding really hard. I hate it because I feel like i'm being rude but not much I can really do.
OT: Perhaps look at a speech class? While I never had to learn a new language when I was a kid I couldn't pronounce the letter R. Only thing I can really think of.

Edit: Just heard the recording.. yeah clerk was slow or tired. I understood perfectly O_o

[Deleted]

You'd get the scouse seal of approval if you dragged that k out a bit more

heh, cool.

[Kalis]

Alright I just did that.
Volume warning.
Background noise warning. (2 Dollar newegg mic)
http://vocaroo.com/i/s0FUF2PL0t58.

Thank's for the great replies so far. I'm from the German )or Swiss dialect German speaking) part of Switzerland. My mothers side of the family speaks Romansh though.

Perhaps they liked your accent and feigned misunderstanding to talk to you for longer, as you say the words clearer than me, and I'm from London.

[Chirri]

Alright I just did that.
Volume warning.
Background noise warning. (2 Dollar newegg mic)
http://vocaroo.com/i/s0FUF2PL0t58.

Thank's for the great replies so far. I'm from the German )or Swiss dialect German speaking) part of Switzerland. My mothers side of the family speaks Romansh though.

Now the whole thing is just plain ridiculous. Unless the problem wasn't Thin and Thick, but "twenty slices of roast beef."

[Varabently]

Kind of hard to offer much in the way of advice when you think it sounds right already. Unless your step-daughter can come on here and describe it the way a native might hear it.

That aside - some listeners brains flat out stop working when they encounter an accent any stronger than the local native kinds, so it may well be more of a reflection on the person making your sandwich rather than your speaking. It's his freaking job to be familiar with the terms usually used to describe food prep, but he can't figure out "Thin" in that situation?

I think this is more likely than the OP having any real difficulty. I've worked at several jobs where I spoke with people with varying levels of English, so it's easy for me to decipher. But the guy cutting meat at the grocery store may not have the same experience with accents. Unless you are literally saying it how he's used to which may not even be correct English, but a local dialect. An example is people in the midwest says "roof" like "book" instead of roof like "root." If you said it the latter way they may not even know what you mean if they've never heard it pronounced that way. Seems unfathomable to me, but I'm sure that happens, especially in small towns.

Edit: I just listened to the recording. Honestly, just chaulk it up to US idiocy because I think you pronounce it better than I do. And I've been here 26 years.

[CataclismicSunrise]

One of my lifechanging moments, in Italy. I walked up to a shop keeper:

Me: Hi, what time is it?
Him: /looks at his watch, clucks at me.
Me: Do you know the time?
Him: /laughs.
Me: /confused
Him: First, you say buon giorno. Then you ask me the time.
Me: oh...

That's a lovely little anecdote there.


As for you, Mr. Moriat, your enunciation sounded proper and completely coherent. However, I'd like to hear you say those words again but this time used in a sentence.

"I would like some thin slices of roast beef, please. I prefer the thin slices of roast beef over the thick slices of roast beef."

[Scooby Dooby Doo]

That's a lovely little anecdote there.


As for you, Mr. Moriat, your enunciation sounded proper and completely coherent. However, I'd like to hear you say those words again but this time used in a sentence.

"I would like some thin slices of roast beef, please. I prefer the thin slices of roast beef over the thick slices of roast beef."

Alright just did that.
Again volume and background noises warning.
http://vocaroo.com/i/s1iVaianT7cI

[ldev]

Alright just did that.
Again volume and background noises warning.
http://vocaroo.com/i/s1iVaianT7cI

Can you now say "Luke, I'm your father"?