Jj is for Jottings 156.  Speech Sound Problems: /th/

The speech sound problem /th/ is more complicated than many other sounds.  This is because in some parts of the English-speaking world, substituting /f/ for /th/ is normal, part of a dialect.  In this case it is not a speech sound problem.

I am speaking from the perspective of Australian English. Here, substituting /f/ for the /th/ sound has become increasingly common, so some speech pathologists won’t remediate it.  I take it on a case by case basis.  My preference is to remediate it, based on my belief that higher levels of functioning lead to greater opportunities in life.  But when there are several error sounds, and particularly if the parents have the same substitution, sometimes I will let it go (reluctantly).  Let’s go back to the beginning.

VOICED AND UNVOICED /TH/.

There are actually two versions of /th/ – voiced and unvoiced, so it is a minimal pair.  Unlike the other minimal pairs, we spell the two versions the same way – yet another confusion caused by the English language.  The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) symbol for the voiceless /th/ is /Θ/.  Some examples are in the words “thin”, “tooth” and “nothing” (beginning, end and middle of word).   The IPA symbol for the voiced /th/ is /ð/.  Examples are in the words “this”, “smooth” and “other”.  (Further examples of IPA symbols can be found in the article on one letter doesn’t always equal one sound.  And it mentions the fact that /th/ is the opposite, because two letters make one sound.)

Remember that the slashes / / mean that we pronounce the sound; ‘ ‘ or underlining means to say the letter name.  I think I may have done both at some point.  Certainly it is underlined in Aa is for Alpacas.  In this article I will dispense with the ‘proper’ IPA symbols because I suspect that the reader will have to keep referring to which symbol is which.  (And they are a pain to type, since I keep having to refer to the unicodes.   So it isn’t beneficial to either party!)  Whilst underlining normally means to use the letter name – in this case names i.e. tee  and aitch – here I will use /th/ for the voiced sound.  So: /th/ refers to the unvoiced sound; /th/ is the voiced sound.

SPEECH SOUND PROBLEMS: /th/ PRODUCTION.

/th/ is one of the last sounds to develop, and should be in place by about 7 ½ years.  We make /th/ by putting our tongue tip between our teeth and blowing air over it.  For /th/, we add our voice, just as for all the other minimal pairs.  Since the sound is made at the front of the mouth and is therefore visible, you would think it is an easy sound to produce.  But in practice that is clearly not so.

/th/ errors.

The most common error is to substitute /f/ for /th/; and /v/ or /d/ for /th/.  Examples of /th/ errors:

‘fing’ for “thing”; ‘barf’ for “bath”; ‘mefod’ for “method’.

Examples of /th/ errors:

‘vis’ or ‘dis’ for “this”; ‘smoov’ for “smooth”; ‘muvver’ or ‘mudder’ for “mother”.  (There are very few words with /th/ on the end.)

And funnily enough, many children will use /th/ correctly in all those little words beginning with /th/ – the, this, that, these, those, there, then, their, they etc.  But they will be incorrect in all other /th/ situations.  And, just as described in the article on /k,g/, these children find it as difficult to learn /th/ as if it weren’t already in their sound repertoire.

The other odd thing is that the most common /s/ error is to lisp – which is in effect saying /th/ instead of /s/.  But does a child with a lisp find it any easier to learn /th/? Rarely.

 

An Odd Real-Life Example.

I was recently watching a series on television, presented by a highly educated and articulate English woman.  What interested me even more than the subject matter was the fact that she had inconsistent sound errors for both /r/ and /th/.  It was the inconsistency which was so fascinating.  Sometimes the sounds would be correct and sometimes not.  I tried to work out a pattern of errors, but there seemed to be no pattern.  It just didn’t make any sense to me that there was no pattern – this was an adult, not a developing child.  And that, given that she could clearly say the sounds correctly and was presenting on television, why she didn’t address the problem.

REMEDIATING /th/: WHY IT IS TRICKY.

The most common substitution of /f/ for /th/, and this is the one which presents the most problems.  We say /f/ by pushing air between the top teeth and the lower lip.  So far so good.  We say /th/ by pushing air between our tongue tip and the top and bottom front teeth.  So, to get from /f/ to /th/, we just need to stick our tongue tip between our teeth, pull our top lip up out of the way and the rest will take care of itself.  Sounds good on paper, but it’s not nearly so simple.

That top lip seems determined to remain involved and NOT get out of the way, so it’s a short step back to /f/.  And, even if that bit is right, children often end up blowing out their cheeks rather than sending the air between the tongue and teeth. Or blowing around the tongue tip and teeth, so the air comes out the corners of the mouth rather than down the middle of the tongue.  It’s a very floppy movement with slack muscles.

To Achieve Correct /th/.

So there are 2 things we need to do to achieve correct /th/.

1. Tongue tip between teeth with top lip out of the way.

You need to use a mirror so the child can see both sets of teeth with their tongue tip between.  Just the very tip of the tongue.  Pushing the tongue out further means a bigger tongue movement, and this interferes with rapid speech.

The moment the lip covers up the top front teeth, you’re back on the path to /f/.

You or I could make a perfectly good /th/ sound with our tongue tip touching the back of our top teeth.  You might find that this is what you sometimes do, if you play around with it in front of a mirror.  But this absolutely will not work when teaching the sound because that will also end up as /f/.  So top teeth must be visible.

2. Sending the air between the top teeth and the tongue.

Avoid using the word “blow”, because that inevitably results in children blowing up their cheeks and/or blowing with their lips as for birthday candles.

The children who send the air around the sides need to tighten the muscles at the corners of the mouth, as we do when pursing our lips in disapproval.   This is not easy to teach, either.

REMEDIATING /th/.

When the child substitutes /v/ for /th/, the process is as above, but adding voice.

With a /d/ substitution it is easier, because there isn’t that pesky upper lip problem.

 

I’m not suggesting people seriously try to remediate their children’s /th/ sounds, but it is good to understand what is involved.  And you could try it out – you might strike it lucky and find that the child is able to learn the sound easily.  I became sick of my elder son’s f/th substitution when he was about 6 ½.  Not only did it come easily to him, but the 3 year old picked it up at the same time!

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