CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html class="client-nojs vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-sticky-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-enabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-toc-available" lang="en" dir="ltr"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <title>Pronunciation of English ⟨th⟩ - Wikipedia</title> <script>(function(){var className="client-js vector-feature-language-in-header-enabled vector-feature-language-in-main-page-header-disabled vector-feature-sticky-header-disabled vector-feature-page-tools-pinned-disabled vector-feature-toc-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-main-menu-pinned-disabled vector-feature-limited-width-clientpref-1 vector-feature-limited-width-content-enabled vector-feature-custom-font-size-clientpref-1 vector-feature-appearance-pinned-clientpref-1 vector-feature-night-mode-enabled skin-theme-clientpref-day vector-toc-available";var cookie=document.cookie.match(/(?:^|; )enwikimwclientpreferences=([^;]+)/);if(cookie){cookie[1].split('%2C').forEach(function(pref){className=className.replace(new RegExp('(^| )'+pref.replace(/-clientpref-\w+$|[^\w-]+/g,'')+'-clientpref-\\w+( |$)'),'$1'+pref+'$2');});}document.documentElement.className=className;}());RLCONF={"wgBreakFrames":false,"wgSeparatorTransformTable":["",""],"wgDigitTransformTable":["",""],"wgDefaultDateFormat":"dmy", "wgMonthNames":["","January","February","March","April","May","June","July","August","September","October","November","December"],"wgRequestId":"16f4fe9d-24d0-46fe-8159-938b7c1d9989","wgCanonicalNamespace":"","wgCanonicalSpecialPageName":false,"wgNamespaceNumber":0,"wgPageName":"Pronunciation_of_English_⟨th⟩","wgTitle":"Pronunciation of English ⟨th⟩","wgCurRevisionId":1260517032,"wgRevisionId":1260517032,"wgArticleId":1872124,"wgIsArticle":true,"wgIsRedirect":false,"wgAction":"view","wgUserName":null,"wgUserGroups":["*"],"wgCategories":["Pages using the Phonos extension","Pages with plain IPA","Articles with short description","Short description is different from Wikidata","Use British English from March 2019","Use dmy dates from December 2020","Articles needing additional references from May 2018","All articles needing additional references","All articles with unsourced statements","Articles with unsourced statements from July 2020","Articles containing Scots-language text", "Articles containing Middle English (1100-1500)-language text","Articles with unsourced statements from July 2019","Articles with unsourced statements from August 2009","Articles with unsourced statements from December 2022","Pages including recorded pronunciations","Articles containing German-language text","English phonology","English th"],"wgPageViewLanguage":"en","wgPageContentLanguage":"en","wgPageContentModel":"wikitext","wgRelevantPageName":"Pronunciation_of_English_⟨th⟩","wgRelevantArticleId":1872124,"wgIsProbablyEditable":true,"wgRelevantPageIsProbablyEditable":true,"wgRestrictionEdit":[],"wgRestrictionMove":[],"wgNoticeProject":"wikipedia","wgCiteReferencePreviewsActive":false,"wgFlaggedRevsParams":{"tags":{"status":{"levels":1}}},"wgMediaViewerOnClick":true,"wgMediaViewerEnabledByDefault":true,"wgPopupsFlags":0,"wgVisualEditor":{"pageLanguageCode":"en","pageLanguageDir":"ltr","pageVariantFallbacks":"en"},"wgMFDisplayWikibaseDescriptions":{"search":true,"watchlist":true, "tagline":false,"nearby":true},"wgWMESchemaEditAttemptStepOversample":false,"wgWMEPageLength":40000,"wgRelatedArticlesCompat":[],"wgEditSubmitButtonLabelPublish":true,"wgULSPosition":"interlanguage","wgULSisCompactLinksEnabled":false,"wgVector2022LanguageInHeader":true,"wgULSisLanguageSelectorEmpty":false,"wgWikibaseItemId":"Q3923939","wgCheckUserClientHintsHeadersJsApi":["brands","architecture","bitness","fullVersionList","mobile","model","platform","platformVersion"],"GEHomepageSuggestedEditsEnableTopics":true,"wgGETopicsMatchModeEnabled":false,"wgGEStructuredTaskRejectionReasonTextInputEnabled":false,"wgGELevelingUpEnabledForUser":false};RLSTATE={"ext.globalCssJs.user.styles":"ready","site.styles":"ready","user.styles":"ready","ext.globalCssJs.user":"ready","user":"ready","user.options":"loading","ext.cite.styles":"ready","ext.phonos.styles":"ready","ext.phonos.icons":"ready","skins.vector.search.codex.styles":"ready","skins.vector.styles":"ready","skins.vector.icons":"ready", "jquery.tablesorter.styles":"ready","jquery.makeCollapsible.styles":"ready","ext.wikimediamessages.styles":"ready","ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript":"ready","ext.uls.interlanguage":"ready","wikibase.client.init":"ready","ext.wikimediaBadges":"ready"};RLPAGEMODULES=["ext.cite.ux-enhancements","ext.phonos.init","ext.scribunto.logs","site","mediawiki.page.ready","jquery.tablesorter","jquery.makeCollapsible","mediawiki.toc","skins.vector.js","ext.centralNotice.geoIP","ext.centralNotice.startUp","ext.gadget.ReferenceTooltips","ext.gadget.switcher","ext.urlShortener.toolbar","ext.centralauth.centralautologin","mmv.bootstrap","ext.popups","ext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.init","ext.visualEditor.targetLoader","ext.echo.centralauth","ext.eventLogging","ext.wikimediaEvents","ext.navigationTiming","ext.uls.interface","ext.cx.eventlogging.campaigns","ext.cx.uls.quick.actions","wikibase.client.vector-2022","ext.checkUser.clientHints","ext.growthExperiments.SuggestedEditSession" ,"wikibase.sidebar.tracking"];</script> <script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.loader.impl(function(){return["user.options@12s5i",function($,jQuery,require,module){mw.user.tokens.set({"patrolToken":"+\\","watchToken":"+\\","csrfToken":"+\\"}); }];});});</script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=ext.cite.styles%7Cext.phonos.icons%2Cstyles%7Cext.uls.interlanguage%7Cext.visualEditor.desktopArticleTarget.noscript%7Cext.wikimediaBadges%7Cext.wikimediamessages.styles%7Cjquery.makeCollapsible.styles%7Cjquery.tablesorter.styles%7Cskins.vector.icons%2Cstyles%7Cskins.vector.search.codex.styles%7Cwikibase.client.init&only=styles&skin=vector-2022"> <script async="" src="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=startup&only=scripts&raw=1&skin=vector-2022"></script> <meta name="ResourceLoaderDynamicStyles" content=""> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=site.styles&only=styles&skin=vector-2022"> <meta name="generator" content="MediaWiki 1.44.0-wmf.5"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin"> <meta name="referrer" content="origin-when-cross-origin"> <meta name="robots" content="max-image-preview:standard"> <meta name="format-detection" content="telephone=no"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=1120"> <meta property="og:title" content="Pronunciation of English ⟨th⟩ - Wikipedia"> <meta property="og:type" content="website"> <link rel="preconnect" href="//upload.wikimedia.org"> <link rel="alternate" media="only screen and (max-width: 640px)" href="//en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/x-wiki" title="Edit this page" href="/w/index.php?title=Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9&action=edit"> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/static/apple-touch/wikipedia.png"> <link rel="icon" href="/static/favicon/wikipedia.ico"> <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="/w/rest.php/v1/search" title="Wikipedia (en)"> <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" href="//en.wikipedia.org/w/api.php?action=rsd"> <link rel="canonical" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9"> <link rel="license" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en"> <link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml" title="Wikipedia Atom feed" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:RecentChanges&feed=atom"> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//meta.wikimedia.org" /> <link rel="dns-prefetch" href="//login.wikimedia.org"> </head> <body class="skin--responsive skin-vector skin-vector-search-vue mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject mw-editable page-Pronunciation_of_English_⟨th⟩ rootpage-Pronunciation_of_English_⟨th⟩ skin-vector-2022 action-view"><a class="mw-jump-link" href="#bodyContent">Jump to content</a> <div class="vector-header-container"> <header class="vector-header mw-header"> <div class="vector-header-start"> <nav class="vector-main-menu-landmark" aria-label="Site"> <div id="vector-main-menu-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-main-menu-dropdown vector-button-flush-left vector-button-flush-right" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-main-menu-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-main-menu-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Main menu" > <label id="vector-main-menu-dropdown-label" for="vector-main-menu-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-menu mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-menu"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Main menu</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-main-menu-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-main-menu" class="vector-main-menu vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-main-menu-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="main-menu-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-main-menu" data-pinned-container-id="vector-main-menu-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-main-menu-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Main menu</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-main-menu.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-main-menu.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-navigation" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-navigation" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Navigation </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-mainpage-description" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Main_Page" title="Visit the main page [z]" accesskey="z"><span>Main page</span></a></li><li id="n-contents" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Contents" title="Guides to browsing Wikipedia"><span>Contents</span></a></li><li id="n-currentevents" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Portal:Current_events" title="Articles related to current events"><span>Current events</span></a></li><li id="n-randompage" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:Random" title="Visit a randomly selected article [x]" accesskey="x"><span>Random article</span></a></li><li id="n-aboutsite" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:About" title="Learn about Wikipedia and how it works"><span>About Wikipedia</span></a></li><li id="n-contactpage" class="mw-list-item"><a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us" title="How to contact Wikipedia"><span>Contact us</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-interaction" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-interaction" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Contribute </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="n-help" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Help:Contents" title="Guidance on how to use and edit Wikipedia"><span>Help</span></a></li><li id="n-introduction" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Help:Introduction" title="Learn how to edit Wikipedia"><span>Learn to edit</span></a></li><li id="n-portal" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Community_portal" title="The hub for editors"><span>Community portal</span></a></li><li id="n-recentchanges" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChanges" title="A list of recent changes to Wikipedia [r]" accesskey="r"><span>Recent changes</span></a></li><li id="n-upload" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:File_upload_wizard" title="Add images or other media for use on Wikipedia"><span>Upload file</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <a href="/wiki/Main_Page" class="mw-logo"> <img class="mw-logo-icon" src="/static/images/icons/wikipedia.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" height="50" width="50"> <span class="mw-logo-container skin-invert"> <img class="mw-logo-wordmark" alt="Wikipedia" src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-wordmark-en.svg" style="width: 7.5em; height: 1.125em;"> <img class="mw-logo-tagline" alt="The Free Encyclopedia" src="/static/images/mobile/copyright/wikipedia-tagline-en.svg" width="117" height="13" style="width: 7.3125em; height: 0.8125em;"> </span> </a> </div> <div class="vector-header-end"> <div id="p-search" role="search" class="vector-search-box-vue vector-search-box-collapses vector-search-box-show-thumbnail vector-search-box-auto-expand-width vector-search-box"> <a href="/wiki/Special:Search" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only search-toggle" title="Search Wikipedia [f]" accesskey="f"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-search mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-search"></span> <span>Search</span> </a> <div class="vector-typeahead-search-container"> <div class="cdx-typeahead-search cdx-typeahead-search--show-thumbnail cdx-typeahead-search--auto-expand-width"> <form action="/w/index.php" id="searchform" class="cdx-search-input cdx-search-input--has-end-button"> <div id="simpleSearch" class="cdx-search-input__input-wrapper" data-search-loc="header-moved"> <div class="cdx-text-input cdx-text-input--has-start-icon"> <input class="cdx-text-input__input" type="search" name="search" placeholder="Search Wikipedia" aria-label="Search Wikipedia" autocapitalize="sentences" title="Search Wikipedia [f]" accesskey="f" id="searchInput" > <span class="cdx-text-input__icon cdx-text-input__start-icon"></span> </div> <input type="hidden" name="title" value="Special:Search"> </div> <button class="cdx-button cdx-search-input__end-button">Search</button> </form> </div> </div> </div> <nav class="vector-user-links vector-user-links-wide" aria-label="Personal tools"> <div class="vector-user-links-main"> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-preferences" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-userpage" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown " title="Change the appearance of the page's font size, width, and color" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-appearance-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-appearance-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Appearance" > <label id="vector-appearance-dropdown-label" for="vector-appearance-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-appearance mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-appearance"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Appearance</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-notifications" class="vector-menu mw-portlet emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-vector-user-menu-overflow" class="vector-menu mw-portlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="https://donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FundraiserRedirector?utm_source=donate&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_campaign=C13_en.wikipedia.org&uselang=en" class=""><span>Donate</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-createaccount-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Pronunciation+of+English+%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory" class=""><span>Create account</span></a> </li> <li id="pt-login-2" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item user-links-collapsible-item"><a data-mw="interface" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Pronunciation+of+English+%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9" title="You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [o]" accesskey="o" class=""><span>Log in</span></a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div id="vector-user-links-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-user-menu vector-button-flush-right vector-user-menu-logged-out" title="Log in and more options" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-user-links-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-user-links-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Personal tools" > <label id="vector-user-links-dropdown-label" for="vector-user-links-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-ellipsis mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-ellipsis"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Personal tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-personal" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-personal user-links-collapsible-item" title="User menu" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-sitesupport" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="https://donate.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FundraiserRedirector?utm_source=donate&utm_medium=sidebar&utm_campaign=C13_en.wikipedia.org&uselang=en"><span>Donate</span></a></li><li id="pt-createaccount" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Pronunciation+of+English+%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-userAdd mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-userAdd"></span> <span>Create account</span></a></li><li id="pt-login" class="user-links-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Pronunciation+of+English+%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9" title="You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [o]" accesskey="o"><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-logIn mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-logIn"></span> <span>Log in</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-user-menu-anon-editor" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-user-menu-anon-editor" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Pages for logged out editors <a href="/wiki/Help:Introduction" aria-label="Learn more about editing"><span>learn more</span></a> </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="pt-anoncontribs" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyContributions" title="A list of edits made from this IP address [y]" accesskey="y"><span>Contributions</span></a></li><li id="pt-anontalk" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyTalk" title="Discussion about edits from this IP address [n]" accesskey="n"><span>Talk</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </header> </div> <div class="mw-page-container"> <div class="mw-page-container-inner"> <div class="vector-sitenotice-container"> <div id="siteNotice"></div> </div> <div class="vector-column-start"> <div class="vector-main-menu-container"> <div id="mw-navigation"> <nav id="mw-panel" class="vector-main-menu-landmark" aria-label="Site"> <div id="vector-main-menu-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav id="mw-panel-toc" aria-label="Contents" data-event-name="ui.sidebar-toc" class="mw-table-of-contents-container vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-toc-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-toc" class="vector-toc vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-toc-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="toc-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-toc" > <h2 class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Contents</h2> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.unpin">hide</button> </div> <ul class="vector-toc-contents" id="mw-panel-toc-list"> <li id="toc-mw-content-text" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a href="#" class="vector-toc-link"> <div class="vector-toc-text">(Top)</div> </a> </li> <li id="toc-General_description" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#General_description"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1</span> <span>General description</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-General_description-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Phonology_and_distribution" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Phonology_and_distribution"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>Phonology and distribution</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Phonology_and_distribution-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Phonology and distribution subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Phonology_and_distribution-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Initial_position" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Initial_position"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.1</span> <span>Initial position</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Initial_position-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Medial_position" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Medial_position"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.2</span> <span>Medial position</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Medial_position-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Final_position" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Final_position"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.3</span> <span>Final position</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Final_position-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Plurals" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Plurals"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.4</span> <span>Plurals</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Plurals-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Grammatical_alternation" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Grammatical_alternation"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.5</span> <span>Grammatical alternation</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Grammatical_alternation-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Regional_differences_in_distribution" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Regional_differences_in_distribution"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.6</span> <span>Regional differences in distribution</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Regional_differences_in_distribution-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-History_of_the_English_phonemes" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#History_of_the_English_phonemes"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>History of the English phonemes</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-History_of_the_English_phonemes-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle History of the English phonemes subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-History_of_the_English_phonemes-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Germanic_origins" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Germanic_origins"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.1</span> <span>Germanic origins</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Germanic_origins-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Old_English" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Old_English"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.2</span> <span>Old English</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Old_English-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Development_up_to_Modern_English" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Development_up_to_Modern_English"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.3</span> <span>Development up to Modern English</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Development_up_to_Modern_English-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Dialectal_realizations" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Dialectal_realizations"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>Dialectal realizations</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Dialectal_realizations-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Dialectal realizations subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Dialectal_realizations-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-th-fronting" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#th-fronting"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.1</span> <span>th-fronting</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-th-fronting-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-th-stopping" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#th-stopping"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.2</span> <span>th-stopping</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-th-stopping-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-th-alveolarization" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#th-alveolarization"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.3</span> <span>th-alveolarization</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-th-alveolarization-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-th-debuccalization" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#th-debuccalization"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.4</span> <span>th-debuccalization</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-th-debuccalization-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Assimilation" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Assimilation"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>Assimilation</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Assimilation-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Acquisition_problems" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Acquisition_problems"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>Acquisition problems</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Acquisition_problems-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-History_of_the_digraph" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#History_of_the_digraph"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7</span> <span>History of the digraph</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-History_of_the_digraph-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle History of the digraph subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-History_of_the_digraph-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-⟨th⟩_for_/θ/_and_/ð/" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#⟨th⟩_for_/θ/_and_/ð/"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7.1</span> <span><span>⟨th⟩</span> for /θ/ and /ð/</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-⟨th⟩_for_/θ/_and_/ð/-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-⟨th⟩_for_/t/" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#⟨th⟩_for_/t/"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7.2</span> <span><span>⟨th⟩</span> for /t/</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-⟨th⟩_for_/t/-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-⟨th⟩_for_/th/" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#⟨th⟩_for_/th/"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7.3</span> <span><span>⟨th⟩</span> for /th/</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-⟨th⟩_for_/th/-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">8</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-References-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle References subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Citations" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Citations"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9.1</span> <span>Citations</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Citations-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Sources" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Sources"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9.2</span> <span>Sources</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Sources-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-main">Pronunciation of English ⟨th⟩</span></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. Available in 4 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-4" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">4 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Th-Laut" title="Th-Laut – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Th-Laut" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prononciation_de_th_en_anglais" title="Prononciation de th en anglais – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Prononciation de th en anglais" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Th_inglese" title="Th inglese – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="Th inglese" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Italiano</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%8B%B1%E8%AF%AD%E4%B8%ADth%E7%9A%84%E5%8F%91%E9%9F%B3" title="英语中th的发音 – Chinese" lang="zh" hreflang="zh" data-title="英语中th的发音" data-language-autonym="中文" data-language-local-name="Chinese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>中文</span></a></li> </ul> <div class="after-portlet after-portlet-lang"><span class="wb-langlinks-edit wb-langlinks-link"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q3923939#sitelinks-wikipedia" title="Edit interlanguage links" class="wbc-editpage">Edit links</a></span></div> </div> </div> </div> </header> <div class="vector-page-toolbar"> <div class="vector-page-toolbar-container"> <div id="left-navigation"> <nav aria-label="Namespaces"> <div id="p-associated-pages" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-associated-pages" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-nstab-main" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9" title="View the content page [c]" accesskey="c"><span>Article</span></a></li><li id="ca-talk" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Talk:Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9" rel="discussion" title="Discuss improvements to the content page [t]" accesskey="t"><span>Talk</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown emptyPortlet" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-variants-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Change language variant" > <label id="vector-variants-dropdown-label" for="vector-variants-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">English</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="p-variants" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-variants emptyPortlet" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> <div id="right-navigation" class="vector-collapsible"> <nav aria-label="Views"> <div id="p-views" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet mw-portlet-views" > <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-view" class="selected vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-edit" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e"><span>Edit</span></a></li><li id="ca-history" class="vector-tab-noicon mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9&action=history" title="Past revisions of this page [h]" accesskey="h"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-tools-dropdown" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-tools-dropdown" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Tools" > <label id="vector-page-tools-dropdown-label" for="vector-page-tools-dropdown-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Tools</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> <div id="vector-page-tools" class="vector-page-tools vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-page-tools-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-unpinned" data-feature-name="page-tools-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-page-tools" data-pinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-page-tools-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Tools</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-page-tools.unpin">hide</button> </div> <div id="p-cactions" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-cactions emptyPortlet vector-has-collapsible-items" title="More options" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Actions </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="ca-more-view" class="selected vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9"><span>Read</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-edit" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e"><span>Edit</span></a></li><li id="ca-more-history" class="vector-more-collapsible-item mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9&action=history"><span>View history</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-tb" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-tb" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> General </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="t-whatlinkshere" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:WhatLinksHere/Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9" title="List of all English Wikipedia pages containing links to this page [j]" accesskey="j"><span>What links here</span></a></li><li id="t-recentchangeslinked" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChangesLinked/Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9" rel="nofollow" title="Recent changes in pages linked from this page [k]" accesskey="k"><span>Related changes</span></a></li><li id="t-upload" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:File_Upload_Wizard" title="Upload files [u]" accesskey="u"><span>Upload file</span></a></li><li id="t-specialpages" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/wiki/Special:SpecialPages" title="A list of all special pages [q]" accesskey="q"><span>Special pages</span></a></li><li id="t-permalink" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9&oldid=1260517032" title="Permanent link to this revision of this page"><span>Permanent link</span></a></li><li id="t-info" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9&action=info" title="More information about this page"><span>Page information</span></a></li><li id="t-cite" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CiteThisPage&page=Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9&id=1260517032&wpFormIdentifier=titleform" title="Information on how to cite this page"><span>Cite this page</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UrlShortener&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FPronunciation_of_English_%25E2%259F%25A8th%25E2%259F%25A9"><span>Get shortened URL</span></a></li><li id="t-urlshortener-qrcode" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:QrCode&url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FPronunciation_of_English_%25E2%259F%25A8th%25E2%259F%25A9"><span>Download QR code</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-coll-print_export" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-coll-print_export" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> Print/export </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="coll-download-as-rl" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:DownloadAsPdf&page=Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9&action=show-download-screen" title="Download this page as a PDF file"><span>Download as PDF</span></a></li><li id="t-print" class="mw-list-item"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9&printable=yes" title="Printable version of this page [p]" accesskey="p"><span>Printable version</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> <div id="p-wikibase-otherprojects" class="vector-menu mw-portlet mw-portlet-wikibase-otherprojects" > <div class="vector-menu-heading"> In other projects </div> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="t-wikibase" class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-wikibase-dataitem mw-list-item"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q3923939" title="Structured data on this page hosted by Wikidata [g]" accesskey="g"><span>Wikidata item</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-column-end"> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-appearance" class="vector-appearance vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-appearance-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="appearance-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-appearance" data-pinned-container-id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Appearance</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.unpin">hide</button> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div id="bodyContent" class="vector-body" aria-labelledby="firstHeading" data-mw-ve-target-container> <div class="vector-body-before-content"> <div class="mw-indicators"> </div> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div> </div> <div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Sounds spelled with the digraph ⟨th⟩</div> <p class="mw-empty-elt"> </p> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1251242444">.mw-parser-output .ambox{border:1px solid #a2a9b1;border-left:10px solid #36c;background-color:#fbfbfb;box-sizing:border-box}.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+link+.ambox{margin-top:-1px}html body.mediawiki .mw-parser-output .ambox.mbox-small-left{margin:4px 1em 4px 0;overflow:hidden;width:238px;border-collapse:collapse;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em}.mw-parser-output .ambox-speedy{border-left:10px solid #b32424;background-color:#fee7e6}.mw-parser-output .ambox-delete{border-left:10px solid #b32424}.mw-parser-output .ambox-content{border-left:10px solid #f28500}.mw-parser-output .ambox-style{border-left:10px solid #fc3}.mw-parser-output .ambox-move{border-left:10px solid #9932cc}.mw-parser-output .ambox-protection{border-left:10px solid #a2a9b1}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-text{border:none;padding:0.25em 0.5em;width:100%}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image{border:none;padding:2px 0 2px 0.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-imageright{border:none;padding:2px 0.5em 2px 0;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-empty-cell{border:none;padding:0;width:1px}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image-div{width:52px}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .ambox{margin:0 10%}}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .ambox{display:none!important}}</style><table class="box-More_citations_needed plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-Refimprove" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Question_book-new.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/50px-Question_book-new.svg.png" decoding="async" width="50" height="39" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/75px-Question_book-new.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/100px-Question_book-new.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="399" /></a></span></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This article <b>needs additional citations for <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">verification</a></b>.<span class="hide-when-compact"> Please help <a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9" title="Special:EditPage/Pronunciation of English ⟨th⟩">improve this article</a> by <a href="/wiki/Help:Referencing_for_beginners" title="Help:Referencing for beginners">adding citations to reliable sources</a>. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.<br /><small><span class="plainlinks"><i>Find sources:</i> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.google.com/search?as_eq=wikipedia&q=%22Pronunciation+of+English+%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9%22">"Pronunciation of English ⟨th⟩"</a> – <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.google.com/search?tbm=nws&q=%22Pronunciation+of+English+%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9%22+-wikipedia&tbs=ar:1">news</a> <b>·</b> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.google.com/search?&q=%22Pronunciation+of+English+%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9%22&tbs=bkt:s&tbm=bks">newspapers</a> <b>·</b> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.google.com/search?tbs=bks:1&q=%22Pronunciation+of+English+%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9%22+-wikipedia">books</a> <b>·</b> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=%22Pronunciation+of+English+%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9%22">scholar</a> <b>·</b> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.jstor.org/action/doBasicSearch?Query=%22Pronunciation+of+English+%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9%22&acc=on&wc=on">JSTOR</a></span></small></span> <span class="date-container"><i>(<span class="date">May 2018</span>)</i></span><span class="hide-when-compact"><i> (<small><a href="/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal">Learn how and when to remove this message</a></small>)</i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ul{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist .mw-empty-li{display:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dt::after{content:": "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li::after{content:" · ";font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li:last-child::after{content:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:first-child::before{content:" (";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:last-child::after{content:")";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol{counter-reset:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li{counter-increment:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li::before{content:" "counter(listitem)"\a0 "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li ol>li:first-child::before{content:" ("counter(listitem)"\a0 "}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1246091330">.mw-parser-output .sidebar{width:22em;float:right;clear:right;margin:0.5em 0 1em 1em;background:var(--background-color-neutral-subtle,#f8f9fa);border:1px solid var(--border-color-base,#a2a9b1);padding:0.2em;text-align:center;line-height:1.4em;font-size:88%;border-collapse:collapse;display:table}body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .sidebar{display:table!important;float:right!important;margin:0.5em 0 1em 1em!important}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-subgroup{width:100%;margin:0;border-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-left{float:left;clear:left;margin:0.5em 1em 1em 0}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-none{float:none;clear:both;margin:0.5em 1em 1em 0}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-outer-title{padding:0 0.4em 0.2em;font-size:125%;line-height:1.2em;font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-top-image{padding:0.4em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-top-caption,.mw-parser-output .sidebar-pretitle-with-top-image,.mw-parser-output .sidebar-caption{padding:0.2em 0.4em 0;line-height:1.2em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-pretitle{padding:0.4em 0.4em 0;line-height:1.2em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-title,.mw-parser-output .sidebar-title-with-pretitle{padding:0.2em 0.8em;font-size:145%;line-height:1.2em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-title-with-pretitle{padding:0.1em 0.4em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-image{padding:0.2em 0.4em 0.4em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-heading{padding:0.1em 0.4em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-content{padding:0 0.5em 0.4em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-content-with-subgroup{padding:0.1em 0.4em 0.2em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-above,.mw-parser-output .sidebar-below{padding:0.3em 0.8em;font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-collapse .sidebar-above,.mw-parser-output .sidebar-collapse .sidebar-below{border-top:1px solid #aaa;border-bottom:1px solid #aaa}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-navbar{text-align:right;font-size:115%;padding:0 0.4em 0.4em}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-list-title{padding:0 0.4em;text-align:left;font-weight:bold;line-height:1.6em;font-size:105%}.mw-parser-output .sidebar-list-title-c{padding:0 0.4em;text-align:center;margin:0 3.3em}@media(max-width:640px){body.mediawiki .mw-parser-output .sidebar{width:100%!important;clear:both;float:none!important;margin-left:0!important;margin-right:0!important}}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .sidebar a>img{max-width:none!important}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-list-title,html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-title-with-pretitle{background:transparent!important}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-title-with-pretitle a{color:var(--color-progressive)!important}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-list-title,html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-title-with-pretitle{background:transparent!important}html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-title-with-pretitle a{color:var(--color-progressive)!important}}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .sidebar{display:none!important}}</style><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><table class="sidebar nomobile nowraplinks"><tbody><tr><td class="sidebar-pretitle">History and description of</td></tr><tr><th class="sidebar-title-with-pretitle"><a href="/wiki/English_phonology" title="English phonology">English pronunciation</a></th></tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> Historical stages</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Old_English_phonology" title="Old English phonology">Old English</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Middle_English_phonology" title="Middle English phonology">Middle English</a></li></ul> </div></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> <a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English" title="Phonological history of English">General development</a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_Old_English" title="Phonological history of Old English">In Old English</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_Scots" title="Phonological history of Scots">In Scots</a></li></ul> </div></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> <a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_vowels" title="Phonological history of English vowels">Development of vowels</a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8a%E2%9F%A9" title="Pronunciation of English ⟨a⟩">A</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_close_back_vowels" title="Phonological history of English close back vowels">Close back</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_close_front_vowels" title="Phonological history of English close front vowels">Close front</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_diphthongs" title="Phonological history of English diphthongs">Diphthongs</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Great_Vowel_Shift" title="Great Vowel Shift">Great Vowel Shift</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_open_back_vowels" title="Phonological history of English open back vowels">Open back</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/English-language_vowel_changes_before_historic_/l/" title="English-language vowel changes before historic /l/">Pre-L</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/English-language_vowel_changes_before_historic_/r/" title="English-language vowel changes before historic /r/">Pre-R</a></li></ul> </div></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> Development of consonants</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_consonants" title="Phonological history of English consonants">Single consonants</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_consonant_clusters" title="Phonological history of English consonant clusters">Clusters</a></li></ul> </div></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> Variable features</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Cot%E2%80%93caught_merger" title="Cot–caught merger"><i>Cot</i>–<i>caught</i> merger</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Drawl" title="Drawl">Drawl</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Flapping" title="Flapping">Flapping</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/H-dropping" title="H-dropping">H-dropping</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/L-vocalization" title="L-vocalization">L-vocalization</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8ng%E2%9F%A9" title="Pronunciation of English ⟨ng⟩">NG</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pronunciation_of_English_/r/" title="Pronunciation of English /r/">R</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rhoticity_in_English" title="Rhoticity in English">Rhoticity</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/T-glottalization" title="T-glottalization">T-glottalization</a></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">TH</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8wh%E2%9F%A9" title="Pronunciation of English ⟨wh⟩">WH</a></li></ul> </div></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> Related topics</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/History_of_English" title="History of English">History of English</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/English_orthography" title="English orthography">Spelling</a></li></ul> </div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-navbar"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239400231">.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar a>abbr{text-decoration:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-mini{font-size:114%;margin:0 4em}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:English_phonology_topics" title="Template:English phonology topics"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:English_phonology_topics" title="Template talk:English phonology topics"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:English_phonology_topics" title="Special:EditPage/Template:English phonology topics"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1235681985">.mw-parser-output .side-box{margin:4px 0;box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #aaa;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em;background-color:var(--background-color-interactive-subtle,#f8f9fa);display:flow-root}.mw-parser-output .side-box-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output .side-box-text{padding:0.25em 0.9em}.mw-parser-output .side-box-image{padding:2px 0 2px 0.9em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .side-box-imageright{padding:2px 0.9em 2px 0;text-align:center}@media(min-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .side-box-flex{display:flex;align-items:center}.mw-parser-output .side-box-text{flex:1;min-width:0}}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .side-box{width:238px}.mw-parser-output .side-box-right{clear:right;float:right;margin-left:1em}.mw-parser-output .side-box-left{margin-right:1em}}</style><div class="side-box metadata side-box-right noprint selfref"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1126788409">.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul{line-height:inherit;list-style:none;margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol li,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul li{margin-bottom:0}</style> <div class="side-box-flex"> <div class="side-box-text plainlist">This article contains <b><a href="/wiki/Phonetic_transcription" title="Phonetic transcription">phonetic transcriptions</a> in the <a href="/wiki/International_Phonetic_Alphabet" title="International Phonetic Alphabet">International Phonetic Alphabet</a> (IPA)</b>. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see <a href="/wiki/Help:IPA" title="Help:IPA">Help:IPA</a>. For the distinction between <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ ]</span>, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ /</span> and ⟨<span title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)" class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa"> </span>⟩, see <a href="/wiki/International_Phonetic_Alphabet#Brackets_and_transcription_delimiters" title="International Phonetic Alphabet">IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters</a>.</div></div> </div> <p>In English, the <a href="/wiki/Digraph_(orthography)" title="Digraph (orthography)">digraph</a> <a href="/wiki/Th_(digraph)" title="Th (digraph)"><span class="nowrap">⟨th⟩</span></a> usually represents either the <a href="/wiki/Voiced_dental_fricative" title="Voiced dental fricative">voiced dental fricative</a> <a href="/wiki/Phoneme" title="Phoneme">phoneme</a> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span> (as in <i><b>th</b>is</i>) or the <a href="/wiki/Voiceless_dental_fricative" title="Voiceless dental fricative">voiceless dental fricative</a> phoneme <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> (as in <i><b>th</b>ing</i>). Occasionally, it stands for <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/t/</span> (as in <i><b>Th</b>ailand</i>, or <i><b>Th</b>omas</i>). In the word <i>eigh<b>th</b></i>, it is often pronounced <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/tθ/</span>. In compound words, <span class="nowrap">⟨th⟩</span> may be a <a href="/wiki/Consonant_sequence" class="mw-redirect" title="Consonant sequence">consonant sequence</a> rather than a digraph (as in the <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/t.h/</span> of <i>ligh<b>th</b>ouse</i>). </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="General_description">General description</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: General description"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In standard English, the phonetic realization of the two dental fricative phonemes shows less variation than many other English consonants. Both are pronounced either <a href="/wiki/Interdental_consonant" title="Interdental consonant">interdentally</a>, with the blade of the tongue resting against the lower part of the back of the upper teeth and the tip protruding slightly, or with the tip of the tongue against the back of the upper teeth. For some speakers these two positions are in <a href="/wiki/Free_variation" title="Free variation">free variation</a>, while for other speakers they are in <a href="/wiki/Complementary_distribution" title="Complementary distribution">complementary distribution</a>, the position behind the teeth being used when the dental fricative stands in proximity to an alveolar fricative <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/<a href="/wiki/Voiceless_alveolar_fricative" title="Voiceless alveolar fricative">s</a>/</span> or <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/<a href="/wiki/Voiced_alveolar_fricative" title="Voiced alveolar fricative">z</a>/</span>, as in <i>myths</i> (<span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θs/</span>) or <i>clothes</i> (<span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ðz/</span>). Lip configuration may vary depending on phonetic context. The <a href="/wiki/Vocal_folds" class="mw-redirect" title="Vocal folds">vocal folds</a> are abducted. The <a href="/wiki/Velopharyngeal_port" title="Velopharyngeal port">velopharyngeal port</a> is closed. Air forced between tongue surface and cutting edge of the upper teeth (interdental) or inside surface of the teeth (dental) creates audible frictional turbulence. </p><p>The difference between <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span> is normally described as a voiceless–voiced contrast, the distinction that native speakers are most aware of. They are also distinguished by other phonetic markers: the <a href="/wiki/Fortis_and_lenis" title="Fortis and lenis">fortis</a> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> is pronounced with more muscular tension than the lenis <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span>; and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> is more strongly <a href="/wiki/Aspirated_consonant" title="Aspirated consonant">aspirated</a> than <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span>, as can be demonstrated by holding a hand in front of the mouth as they are spoken. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Phonology_and_distribution">Phonology and distribution</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Phonology and distribution"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In modern English, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span> are distinct <a href="/wiki/Phoneme" title="Phoneme">phonemes</a>, not merely <a href="/wiki/Allophone" title="Allophone">allophones</a>, as demonstrated by <a href="/wiki/Minimal_pair" title="Minimal pair">minimal pairs</a> such as <i>thigh:thy, ether:either, teeth:teethe</i>. They are distinguished from the neighbouring labiodental fricatives, sibilants and alveolar stops by such minimal pairs as <i>thought:fought/sought/taught</i> and <i>then:Venn/Zen/den</i>. </p><p>The vast majority of words in English spelled with <span class="nowrap">⟨th⟩</span> have <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span>, and almost all newly created words do. However, the high frequency of the function words, particularly <i>the</i>, means that <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span> is more frequent in <a href="/wiki/Type%E2%80%93token_distinction" title="Type–token distinction">actual use.</a> </p><p>As a general rule, in initial position, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> is used except in certain function words; in medial position, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span> is used except for certain foreign loan words; and in final position, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> is used except in certain verbs. A more detailed explanation follows. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Initial_position">Initial position</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Initial position"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li>Almost all words beginning with a dental fricative have <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span>.</li> <li>A small number of common function words (the Middle English anomalies mentioned below) begin with <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span>. The words in this group are: <ul><li>1 definite article: <i>the</i></li> <li>4 demonstratives: <i>this, that, these, those</i></li> <li>2 personal pronouns each with multiple forms: <i>thou, thee, thy, thine, thyself; they, them, their, theirs, themselves, themself</i></li> <li>7 adverbs and conjunctions: <i>there, then, than, thus, though, thence, thither</i> (though in the United States <i>thence</i> and <i>thither</i> may be pronounced with initial <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span><sup id="cite_ref-AHD_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-AHD-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>)</li> <li>Various compound adverbs based on the above words: <i>therefore, thereupon, thereby, thereafter, thenceforth</i>, etc.</li></ul></li> <li>A few words use an initial <span class="nowrap">⟨th⟩</span> for <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/t/</span> (e.g. <i>Thomas</i>): see below.</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Medial_position">Medial position</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Medial position"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li>Most native words with a medial <span class="nowrap">⟨th⟩</span> have <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span>. <ul><li>Between vowels (including <a href="/wiki/R-colored_vowel" title="R-colored vowel">r-colored vowels</a>), followed by a weak vowel: <i>heathen, farthing, fathom, Worthington</i>; and the frequent combination -ther-: <i>bother, brother, dither, either, farther, father, further, heather, lather, mother, northern, other, rather, smithereens, slither, southern, together, weather, whether, wither</i>; <i>Caruthers, Netherlands, Witherspoon</i>.</li> <li>Followed by <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/r/</span>: <i>brethren</i>.</li></ul></li> <li>A few native words have a medial <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span>: <ul><li>The suffixes <i>-y, -ly, -ing</i> and <i>-ed</i> normally leave terminal <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> unchanged: <i>earthy, healthy, pithy, stealthy, wealthy, bothy</i> (from <i>booth</i>); <i>fourthly</i>, <i>monthly</i>; <i>earthing</i>; <i>frothed</i>; but <i>worthy</i> and <i>swarthy</i> have <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span>.</li> <li>Some plurals have <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θs/</span>, as discussed in more detail below: <i>cloths, baths</i> etc.</li> <li>Compound words in which the first element ends or the second element begins with <span class="nowrap">⟨th⟩</span> frequently have <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span>, as these elements would in isolation: <i>bathroom, Southampton; anything, everything, nothing, something</i>.</li> <li>The only other native words with medial <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> would seem to be <i>brothel</i> (usually) and <i>Ethel</i>.</li></ul></li> <li>Most loan words with a medial <span class="nowrap">⟨th⟩</span> have <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span>. <ul><li>From Greek: <i>Agatha, anthem, atheist, Athens, athlete, cathedral, Catherine, Cathy, enthusiasm, ether, ethics, ethnic, lethal, lithium, mathematics, method, methyl, mythical, panther, pathetic, sympathy</i></li> <li>From Latin: <i>author, authority</i> (though in Latin these had <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/t/</span>; see below). Also names borrowed from or via Latin: <i>Bertha, Gothic, Hathaway, Othello, Parthian</i></li> <li>From Celtic languages: <i>Arthur</i> (Welsh has <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> medially: <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ærθɨr/</span>); <i>Abernathy, Abernethy</i>, as an anglicization, though Gaelic has no <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span>.</li> <li>From Hebrew: <i>Ethan</i>, <i>Jonathan</i>, <i>Bethlehem</i>, <i>Bethany</i>, <i>Leviathan</i>, <i>Bethel</i></li> <li>From German: <i>Luther</i>, as an anglicized <a href="/wiki/Spelling_pronunciation" title="Spelling pronunciation">spelling pronunciation</a> (see below).</li></ul></li> <li>Loanwords with medial <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span>: <ul><li>Greek words with the combination -thm-: <i>algorithm, logarithm, rhythm</i>. Exception : arithmetic <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/əˈrɪθmətɪk/</span>. The word <i>asthma</i> may be pronounced <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ˈæzðmə/</span> or <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ˈæsθmə/</span>, though here the <span class="nowrap">⟨th⟩</span> is usually silent.</li></ul></li> <li>A few words have a medial <span class="nowrap">⟨th⟩</span> for <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/t/</span> or <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/th/</span> (e.g. <i>lighthouse</i>): see below.</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Final_position">Final position</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Final position"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li>Nouns and adjectives <ul><li>Nouns and adjectives ending in a dental fricative usually have <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span>: <i>bath, breath, cloth, froth, health, hearth, loath, mouth, sheath, sooth, tooth/teeth, width, wreath</i>.</li> <li>Exceptions are usually marked in the spelling with a <a href="/wiki/Silent_e" title="Silent e">silent <span class="nowrap">⟨e⟩</span></a>: <i>tithe, lathe, lithe</i> with <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span>.</li> <li><i>blithe</i> can have either <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span> or <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span>. <i>booth</i> has <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span> in England but <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> in America.</li></ul></li> <li>Verbs <ul><li>Verbs ending in a dental fricative usually have <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span>, and are frequently spelled with a silent <span class="nowrap">⟨e⟩</span>: <i>bathe, breathe, clothe, loathe, scathe, scythe, seethe, sheathe, soothe, teethe, tithe, wreathe, writhe.</i> Spelled without <span class="nowrap">⟨e⟩</span>: <i>mouth</i> (verb) nevertheless has <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span>.</li> <li><i>froth</i> has <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> whether as a noun or as a verb.</li> <li>The verb endings -s, -ing, -ed do not change the pronunciation of a <span class="nowrap">⟨th⟩</span> in the final position in the stem: <i>bathe</i> has <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span>, therefore so do <i>bathed, bathing, bathes</i>; <i>frothing</i> has <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span>. Likewise <i>clothing</i> used as a noun, <i>scathing</i> as an adjective etc.</li> <li>The archaic verb inflection "-eth" has <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span>.</li></ul></li> <li>Others <ul><li><i>with</i> has either <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> or <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span> (see below), as do its compounds: <i>within</i>, <i>without</i>, <i>outwith</i>, <i>withdraw</i>, <i>withhold</i>, <i>withstand</i>, <i>wherewithal</i>, etc.</li></ul></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Plurals">Plurals</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Plurals"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li>Plural <span class="nowrap">⟨s⟩</span> after <span class="nowrap">⟨th⟩</span> may be realized as either <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ðz/</span> or <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θs/</span>: <ul><li>Some plural nouns ending in <span class="nowrap">⟨ths⟩</span>, with a preceding vowel, have <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ðz/</span>, although the singulars always have <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span>; however, a variant in <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θs/</span> will be found for many of these: <i>baths, mouths, oaths, paths, sheaths, truths, wreaths, youths</i> exist in both varieties; <i>clothes</i> always has <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ðz/</span> (if not pronounced <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/kloʊz/</span><sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>).</li> <li>Others have only /θs/: <i>azimuths, breaths, cloths, deaths, faiths, Goths, growths, mammoths, moths, myths, smiths, sloths, zeniths</i>, etc. This includes all words in 'th' preceded by a consonant (<i>earths</i>, <i>hearths</i>, <i>lengths</i>, <i>months</i>, <i>widths</i>, etc.) and all numeric words, whether preceded by vowel or consonant (<i>fourths, fifths, sixths, sevenths, eighths</i> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/eɪtθs/</span>, <i>twelfths, fifteenths, twentieths, hundredths</i> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/hʌndrədθs/</span>, <i>thousandths</i>).</li> <li><i>Booth</i> has <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span> in the singular and hence <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ðz/</span> in the plural for most speakers in England.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="not borne out by my experience (July 2020)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> In American English, it has <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> in the singular and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θs/</span> or <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ðz/</span> in the plural. This pronunciation also prevails in Scotland.</li></ul></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Grammatical_alternation">Grammatical alternation</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Grammatical alternation"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In pairs of related words, an <a href="/wiki/Alternation_(linguistics)" title="Alternation (linguistics)">alternation</a> between <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span> is possible, which may be thought of as a kind of <a href="/wiki/Consonant_mutation" title="Consonant mutation">consonant mutation</a>. Typically <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> appears in the singular of a noun, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span> in the plural and in the related verb: <i>cloth</i> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span>, <i>clothes</i> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span>, <i>to clothe</i> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span>. This is directly comparable to the <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/s/-/z/</span> or <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/f/-/v/</span> alternation in <i>house, houses</i> or <i>wolf, wolves</i>. It goes back to the allophonic variation in Old English (see below), where it was possible for <span class="nowrap">⟨þ⟩</span> to be in final position and thus voiceless in the basic form of a word, but in medial position and voiced in a related form. The loss of inflections then brought the voiced medial consonant to the end of the word. Often a remnant of the old inflection can be seen in the spelling in the form of a silent <span class="nowrap">⟨e⟩</span>, which may be thought of synchronically as a marker of the voicing. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Regional_differences_in_distribution">Regional differences in distribution</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Regional differences in distribution"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The above discussion follows <a href="/wiki/Daniel_Jones_(phonetician)" title="Daniel Jones (phonetician)">Daniel Jones</a>' <a href="/wiki/English_Pronouncing_Dictionary" title="English Pronouncing Dictionary">English Pronouncing Dictionary</a>, an authority on standard <a href="/wiki/British_English" title="British English">British English</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Webster%27s_New_World_College_Dictionary" class="mw-redirect" title="Webster's New World College Dictionary">Webster's New World College Dictionary</a>, an authority on <a href="/wiki/American_English" title="American English">American English</a>. Usage appears much the same between the two. Regional variation within standard English includes the following: </p> <ul><li>The final consonant in <i>with</i> is pronounced <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> (its original pronunciation) in northern <a href="/wiki/Great_Britain" title="Great Britain">Britain</a>, but <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span> in the south, though some speakers of Southern British English use <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> before a voiceless consonant and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span> before a voiced one. A 1993 postal poll of <a href="/wiki/American_English" title="American English">American English</a> speakers showed that 84% use <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span>, while 16% have <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span> (Shitara 1993). (The variant with <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span> is presumably a <a href="/wiki/Sandhi" title="Sandhi">sandhi</a> development.)</li> <li>In <a href="/wiki/Scottish_English" title="Scottish English">Scottish English</a>, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> is found in many words which have <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span> further south. The phenomenon of nouns terminating in <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> taking plurals in <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ðz/</span> does not occur in the north. Thus the following have <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θs/</span>: <i>baths</i>, <i>mouths</i> (noun), <i>truths</i>. Scottish English does have the termination <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ðz/</span> in verb forms, however, such as <i>bathes</i>, <i>mouths</i> (verb), <i>loathes</i>, and also in the noun <i>clothes</i>, which can be realized without <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span>. Scottish English also has <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> in <i>with, booth, thence</i> etc., and the Scottish pronunciation of <i>thither</i>, almost uniquely, has both <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span> in the same word. Where there is an American-British difference, the North of Britain generally agrees with the United States on this phoneme pair.</li> <li>Some dialects of American English use <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span> at the beginning of the word "thank".</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="History_of_the_English_phonemes">History of the English phonemes</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: History of the English phonemes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Germanic_origins">Germanic origins</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Germanic origins"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p><a href="/wiki/Proto-Indo-European_language" title="Proto-Indo-European language">Proto-Indo-European</a> (PIE) had no dental fricatives, but these evolved in the earliest stages of the Germanic languages. In <a href="/wiki/Proto-Germanic" class="mw-redirect" title="Proto-Germanic">Proto-Germanic</a>, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> were separate phonemes, usually represented in Germanic studies by the symbols *đ and *þ. </p> <ul><li>*đ (<span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span>) was derived by <a href="/wiki/Grimm%27s_law" title="Grimm's law">Grimm's law</a> from PIE *dʰ or by <a href="/wiki/Verner%27s_law" title="Verner's law">Verner's law</a> (i.e. when immediately following an unstressed syllable) from PIE *t.</li> <li>*þ (<span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span>) was derived by Grimm's law from PIE *t.</li></ul> <p>In <a href="/wiki/West_Germanic_languages" title="West Germanic languages">West Germanic</a>, the Proto-Germanic *đ shifted further to *d, leaving only one dental fricative phoneme. However, a new <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ð]</span> appeared as an <a href="/wiki/Allophone" title="Allophone">allophone</a> of <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> in medial positions by assimilation of the voicing of the surrounding vowels. <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[θ]</span> remained in initial and presumably in final positions (though later <a href="/wiki/Terminal_devoicing" class="mw-redirect" title="Terminal devoicing">terminal devoicing</a> would in any case have eliminated the evidence of final <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ð]</span>). This West Germanic phoneme, complete with its distribution of allophones, survived into Old English. In German and Dutch, it shifted to a <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/d/</span>, the allophonic distinction simply being lost. In German, West Germanic *d shifted to <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/t/</span> in what may be thought of as a chain shift, but in Dutch, *þ, *đ and *d merged into a single <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/d/</span>. </p><p>The whole complex of Germanic dentals, and the place of the fricatives within it, can be summed up in this table: </p> <table class="wikitable"> <tbody><tr> <th>PIE </th> <th>Proto-Germanic </th> <th>West Germanic </th> <th>Old English </th> <th>German </th> <th>Dutch </th> <th>Notes </th></tr> <tr> <td rowspan="3">*t </td> <td rowspan="2">*þ </td> <td>*[þ] </td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[θ]</span> </td> <td rowspan="2"><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/d/</span> </td> <td rowspan="4"><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/d/</span> </td> <td>Original *t in initial position, or in final position after a stressed vowel </td></tr> <tr> <td>*[đ] </td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ð]</span> </td> <td>Original *t in medial position after a stressed vowel </td></tr> <tr> <td rowspan="2">*đ </td> <td rowspan="2">*d </td> <td rowspan="2"><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/d/</span> </td> <td rowspan="2"><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/t/</span> </td> <td>Original *t after an unstressed vowel </td></tr> <tr> <td>*dʰ </td> <td>Original *dʰ in all positions </td></tr> <tr> <td>*d </td> <td>*t </td> <td>*t </td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/t/</span> </td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/s/</span> or <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ts/</span> </td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/t/</span> </td> <td>Original *d in all positions </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>Note that this table shows only the basic rules. The actual developments in all of the mentioned languages are more complicated (due to dialectal variation, peculiar developments in <a href="/wiki/Consonant_cluster" title="Consonant cluster">consonant clusters</a>, etc.). For more on these phonemes from a comparative perspective, see <a href="/wiki/Grammatischer_Wechsel" title="Grammatischer Wechsel">Grammatischer Wechsel</a>. For the developments in German and Dutch see <a href="/wiki/High_German_consonant_shift" title="High German consonant shift">High German consonant shift</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Old_English">Old English</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: Old English"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Thus English inherited a phoneme <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> in positions where other West Germanic languages have <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/d/</span> and most other Indo-European languages have <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/t/</span>: English <i>three</i>, German <i>drei</i>, Latin <i>tres</i>. </p><p>In Old English, the phoneme <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span>, like all fricative phonemes in the language, had two allophones, one voiced and one voiceless, which were distributed regularly according to phonetic environment. </p> <ul><li><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ð]</span> (like <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[v]</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[z]</span>) was used between two voiced sounds (either vowels or voiced consonants).</li> <li><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[θ]</span> (like <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[f]</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[s]</span>) was spoken in initial and final position, and also medially if adjacent to another unvoiced consonant.</li></ul> <p>Although Old English had two graphemes to represent these sounds, <span class="nowrap">⟨þ⟩</span> (<a href="/wiki/%C3%9E" class="mw-redirect" title="Þ">thorn</a>) and <span class="nowrap">⟨ð⟩</span> (<a href="/wiki/%C3%90" class="mw-redirect" title="Ð">eth</a>), it used them interchangeably, unlike <a href="/wiki/Old_Icelandic" class="mw-redirect" title="Old Icelandic">Old Icelandic</a>, which used <span class="nowrap">⟨þ⟩</span> for <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> and <span class="nowrap">⟨ð⟩</span> for <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Development_up_to_Modern_English">Development up to Modern English</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: Development up to Modern English"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The most important development on the way to modern English was the investing of the existing distinction between <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ð]</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[θ]</span> with phonemic value. Minimal pairs, and hence the phonological independence of the two phones, developed as a result of three main processes. </p> <ol><li>In early Middle English times, a group of very common function words beginning with <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> (the, they, there, etc.) came to be pronounced with <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span> instead of <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span>. Possibly this was a <a href="/wiki/Sandhi" title="Sandhi">sandhi</a> development; as these words are frequently found in unstressed positions, they can sometimes appear to run on from the preceding word, which may have resulted in the dental fricative being treated as though it were word-internal. This allowed a word-initial minimal pair like <i>thigh:thy</i>.</li> <li>English has borrowed many words from <a href="/wiki/Greek_language" title="Greek language">Greek</a>, including a vast number of <a href="/wiki/Science" title="Science">scientific</a> terms. Where the original Greek had the letter <span class="nowrap">⟨θ⟩</span> (theta), English usually retained the Late Greek pronunciation regardless of phonetic environment, resulting in the presence of <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> in medial position (<i>anthem</i>, <i>methyl</i>, etc.). This allowed a medial minimal pair like <i>ether:either</i>.</li> <li>English has lost its original verb inflections. When the stem of a verb ends with a dental fricative, this was usually followed by a vowel in Old English, and was therefore voiced. It is still voiced in modern English, even though the verb inflection has disappeared leaving the <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span> at the end of the word. Examples are to bathe, to mouth, to breathe. Sometimes a remnant of the original vowel remained in the spelling (see: <a href="/wiki/Silent_e" title="Silent e">Silent e</a>), but this was inconsistent. This allowed a minimal pair in final position like <i>loath:loathe</i>.</li></ol> <p>Other changes that affected these phonemes included a shift <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/d/</span> → <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span> when followed by unstressed suffix -er. Thus Old English <i>fæder</i> became modern English <i>father</i>; likewise <i>mother, gather, hither, together, weather</i> (from <i>mōdor, gaderian, hider, tōgædere, weder</i>). In a reverse process, Old English <i>byrþen</i> and <i>morþor</i> or <i>myrþra</i> become <i>burden</i> and <i>murder</i> (compare the obsolete variants <i>burthen</i> and <i>murther</i>). </p><p>Dialectally, the alternation between <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/d/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span> sometimes extends to other words, as <i>bladder, ladder, solder</i> with <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span> (possibly being restricted elsewhere by the former two clashing with <i>blather</i> and <i>lather</i>). On the other hand, some dialects retain original <i>d,</i> and extend it to other words, as <i>brother, further, rather</i>. The <a href="/wiki/Wales" title="Wales">Welsh</a> name <i>Llewelyn</i> appears in older English texts as <i>Thlewelyn</i> (<a href="/wiki/Rolls_of_Parliament" title="Rolls of Parliament">Rolls of Parliament</a> (<i>Rotuli parliamentorum</i>) I. 463/1, King Edward I or II), and <i>Fluellen</i> (Shakespeare, <i>Henry V</i>). <i>Th</i> also occurs dialectally for <i>wh,</i> as in <i>thirl, thortleberry, thorl,</i> for <i>whirl, whortleberry, whorl</i>. Conversely, <a href="/wiki/Scots_language" title="Scots language">Scots</a> has <span title="Scots-language text"><i lang="sco">whaing</i></span>, <span title="Scots-language text"><i lang="sco">whang</i></span>, <span title="Scots-language text"><i lang="sco">white</i></span>, <span title="Scots-language text"><i lang="sco">whittle</i></span>, for <span title="Middle English (1100-1500)-language text"><i lang="enm">thwaing</i></span>, <span title="Middle English (1100-1500)-language text"><i lang="enm">thwang</i></span>, <span title="Middle English (1100-1500)-language text"><i lang="enm">thwite</i></span>, <span title="Middle English (1100-1500)-language text"><i lang="enm">thwittle</i></span>. </p><p>The old verb inflection <i>-eth</i> (Old English <i>-eþ</i>) was replaced by <i>-s</i> (<i>he singeth → he sings</i>), not a sound shift but a completely new inflection. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Dialectal_realizations">Dialectal realizations</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: Dialectal realizations"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In some dialects the "th"-sound phonemes <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span> are pronounced differently from the dental fricatives <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[θ]</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ð]</span>. Most common are: substitution with labiodental fricatives <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[f]</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[v]</span> (fronting), substitution with alveolar stops <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[t]</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[d]</span> (stopping), and substitution with alveolar fricatives <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[s]</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[z]</span> (alveolarization). Fronting and stopping are more common among speakers of English dialects, whereas alveolarization is more common among language learners whose first languages are <a href="/wiki/French_language" title="French language">French</a>, <a href="/wiki/German_language" title="German language">German</a>, or <a href="/wiki/Mandarin_Chinese" title="Mandarin Chinese">Mandarin</a>. To speakers of varieties in which <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span> are pronounced <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[θ]</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ð]</span>, fronting and stopping are generally considered to have less of a <a href="/wiki/Markedness" title="Markedness">marked</a> contrast with the standard pronunciation than alveolarization, which is often more stigmatized. </p><p>A fourth, less common substitution is <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[h]</span> for <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> word-initially or intervocalically. This is called <a href="/wiki/Debuccalization" title="Debuccalization">debuccalization</a>, and somewhat prevalent in Scottish English. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="th-fronting">th-fronting</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: th-fronting"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Th-fronting" title="Th-fronting">th-fronting</a></div> <p>In some areas, such as <a href="/wiki/London" title="London">London</a>, and certain dialects, including <a href="/wiki/African_American_Vernacular_English" class="mw-redirect" title="African American Vernacular English">African American Vernacular English</a> and less commonly New Zealand, many people realize the phonemes <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span> as <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[f]</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[v]</span>, respectively. Although traditionally stigmatized as typical of a <a href="/wiki/Cockney" title="Cockney">Cockney</a> accent, this pronunciation is fairly widespread, especially when immediately surrounded by other fricatives for ease of pronunciation, and has, in the early 20th century, become an increasingly noticeable feature of the <a href="/wiki/Estuary_English" title="Estuary English">Estuary English</a> accent of South East England. It has in at least one case been transferred into standard English as a neologism: a <i>bovver boy</i> is a thug, a "boy" who likes "bother" (fights). <a href="/wiki/Joe_Brown_and_his_Bruvvers" class="mw-redirect" title="Joe Brown and his Bruvvers">Joe Brown and his Bruvvers</a> was a Pop group of the 1960s. The song "Fings ain't wot they used t'be" was the title song of <a href="/wiki/Fings_Ain%27t_Wot_They_Used_T%27Be" title="Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be">a 1959 Cockney comedy</a>. Similarly, a <a href="/wiki/New_Zealander" class="mw-redirect" title="New Zealander">New Zealander</a> from the northernmost parts of the country might state that he or she is from "<a href="/wiki/Northland_Region" title="Northland Region">Norfland</a>". </p><p>Note that, at least in Cockney, a word beginning with <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span> (as opposed to its voiceless counterpart <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span>) can never be labiodental. Instead, it is realized as any of <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[<a href="/wiki/Voiced_dental_fricative" title="Voiced dental fricative">ð</a>,<span class="wrap"> </span><a href="/wiki/Voiced_dental_approximant" class="mw-redirect" title="Voiced dental approximant">ð̞</a>,<span class="wrap"> </span><a href="/wiki/Voiced_alveolar_plosive" class="mw-redirect" title="Voiced alveolar plosive">d</a>,<span class="wrap"> </span><a href="/wiki/Voiced_alveolar_lateral_approximant" class="mw-redirect" title="Voiced alveolar lateral approximant">l</a>,<span class="wrap"> </span><a href="/wiki/Glottal_stop" title="Glottal stop">ʔ</a>]</span>, or is dropped altogether.<sup id="cite_ref-wright_3-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-wright-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-wells_4-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-wells-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="th-stopping">th-stopping</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: th-stopping"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Th-stopping" title="Th-stopping">th-stopping</a></div> <p>Many speakers of <a href="/wiki/African_American_Vernacular_English" class="mw-redirect" title="African American Vernacular English">African American Vernacular English</a>, <a href="/wiki/Caribbean_English" title="Caribbean English">Caribbean English</a>, <a href="/wiki/Liberian_English" title="Liberian English">Liberian English</a>, <a href="/wiki/Nigerian_English" title="Nigerian English">Nigerian English</a>, <a href="/wiki/Philadelphia_English" title="Philadelphia English">Philadelphia English</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Philippine_English" title="Philippine English">Philippine English</a> (along with other Asian English varieties) pronounce the fricatives <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ,<span class="wrap"> </span>ð/</span> as alveolar stops <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[t,<span class="wrap"> </span>d]</span>. Similarly, but still distinctly, many speakers of <a href="/wiki/New_York_City_English" title="New York City English">New York City English</a>, <a href="/wiki/Inland_Northern_American_English" title="Inland Northern American English">Chicago English</a>, <a href="/wiki/Boston_English" class="mw-redirect" title="Boston English">Boston English</a>, <a href="/wiki/Indian_English" title="Indian English">Indian English</a>, <a href="/wiki/Newfoundland_English" title="Newfoundland English">Newfoundland English</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Hiberno-English" title="Hiberno-English">Hiberno-English</a> use the dental stops <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[t̪,<span class="wrap"> </span>d̪]</span> (typically distinct from alveolar <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[t,<span class="wrap"> </span>d]</span>) instead of, or in free variation with, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[θ,<span class="wrap"> </span>ð]</span>. Native speakers of most <a href="/wiki/Indo-Aryan_languages" title="Indo-Aryan languages">Indo-Aryan languages</a> often substitute the dental fricatives <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[θ,<span class="wrap"> </span>ð]</span> with the voiceless aspirated and voiced dental stops <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[t̪ʰ,<span class="wrap"> </span>d̪]</span>, respectively. </p><p>In Cockney, the th-stopping may occur when a word begins with <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span> (but not its voiceless counterpart <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span>).<sup id="cite_ref-wright_3-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-wright-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-wells_4-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-wells-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> This is also associated with the accent of the English city of <a href="/wiki/Sheffield" title="Sheffield">Sheffield</a> (such as the nickname <i>dee-dahs</i> for residents) but such pronunciations are now confined to the very oldest residents of Sheffield.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="th-alveolarization">th-alveolarization</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9&action=edit&section=16" title="Edit section: th-alveolarization"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Th-alveolarization is a process that occurs in some African varieties of English where the dental fricatives <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ,<span class="wrap"> </span>ð/</span> merge with the alveolar fricatives <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/<a href="/wiki/Voiceless_alveolar_fricative" title="Voiceless alveolar fricative">s</a>/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/<a href="/wiki/Voiced_alveolar_fricative" title="Voiced alveolar fricative">z</a>/</span>. It is an example of <a href="/wiki/Assibilation" title="Assibilation">assibilation</a>. </p><p>In rarer or older varieties of <a href="/wiki/African_American_Vernacular_English" class="mw-redirect" title="African American Vernacular English">African American Vernacular English</a>, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> may be pronounced <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[s]</span> after a vowel and before another consonant, as in <i>bathroom</i> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ˈbæsɹum]</span>.<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Th-alveolarization is often parodied as typical of French-, Japanese-, and German-speaking learners of English, but it is widespread among many other foreign learners because the dental fricative "th" sounds are <a href="/wiki/Markedness" title="Markedness">not very common</a> among the world's languages. Due to the said ridicule, learners who are unable to realize these sounds sometimes opt for the less <a href="/wiki/Markedness" title="Markedness">marked</a> th-fronting or th-stopping instead of alveolarization.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (July 2019)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p> <table class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> <caption class="nowrap">Homophonous pairs </caption> <tbody><tr> <th><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/s,<span class="wrap"> </span>z/</span> </th> <th><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ,<span class="wrap"> </span>ð/</span> </th> <th>IPA </th> <th>Notes </th></tr> <tr> <td>ace</td> <td>eighth</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈeɪs</span></td> <td><i>eighth</i> more often merges with <i>eights</i> (see below) </td></tr> <tr> <td>bass</td> <td>bath</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈbæs</span></td> <td><i>bass</i>, the fish; but distinct in dialects with <a href="/wiki/Broad_A" class="mw-redirect" title="Broad A">broad A</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Bess_(disambiguation)" class="mw-redirect mw-disambig" title="Bess (disambiguation)">Bess</a></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Beth_(disambiguation)" class="mw-redirect mw-disambig" title="Beth (disambiguation)">Beth</a></td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈbɛs</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>breeze</td> <td>breathe</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈbɹiːz</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>close</td> <td>clothe</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈkloʊz</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>close</td> <td>clothes</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈkloʊz</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>eights</td> <td>eighth</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈeɪts</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Erse_(disambiguation)" class="mw-redirect mw-disambig" title="Erse (disambiguation)">Erse</a></td> <td>earth</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈɜː(r)s</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>face</td> <td>faith</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈfeɪs</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>force</td> <td>forth</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈfoə(r)s</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>force</td> <td>fourth</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈfoə(r)s</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>frost</td> <td>frothed</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈfrɒst,<span class="wrap"> </span>ˈfrɔːst</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>gross</td> <td>growth</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈɡroʊs</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>kiss</td> <td>kith</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈkɪs</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>lays</td> <td>lathe</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈleɪz</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>laze</td> <td>lathe</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈleɪz</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>lies</td> <td>lithe</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈlaɪz</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>louse</td> <td><a href="/wiki/Louth_(disambiguation)" class="mw-redirect mw-disambig" title="Louth (disambiguation)">Louth</a></td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈlaʊs</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>lyse</td> <td>lithe</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈlaɪz</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>mass</td> <td>math</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈmæs</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>mess</td> <td>meth</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈmɛs</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>miss</td> <td>myth</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈmɪs</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>months</td> <td>month</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈmʌns</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>moss</td> <td>moth</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈmɒs,<span class="wrap"> </span>ˈmɔːs</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>mouse</td> <td>mouth</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈmaʊs</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>pass</td> <td>path</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈpæs</span>, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈpɑːs</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>piss</td> <td>pith</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈpɪs</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>purse</td> <td><a href="/wiki/Perth" title="Perth">Perth</a></td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈpɜː(r)s</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>race</td> <td>wraith</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈreɪs</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>rise</td> <td>writhe</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈraɪz</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Ross_(disambiguation)" class="mw-redirect mw-disambig" title="Ross (disambiguation)">Ross</a></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Roth_(disambiguation)" class="mw-redirect mw-disambig" title="Roth (disambiguation)">Roth</a></td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈrɒs,<span class="wrap"> </span>ˈrɔːs</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>ryes</td> <td>writhe</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈraɪz</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>sai</td> <td>thigh</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈsaɪ</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>sane</td> <td>thane</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈseɪn</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>sane</td> <td>thegn</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈseɪn</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>sank</td> <td>thank</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈsæŋk</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>saw</td> <td>thaw</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈsɔː</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>saw</td> <td><a href="/wiki/Thor" title="Thor">Thor</a></td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈsɔː</span></td> <td>In most <a href="/wiki/Non-rhotic" class="mw-redirect" title="Non-rhotic">Non-rhotic</a> accents; specifically those without the <a href="/wiki/Cot-caught_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Cot-caught merger">Cot-caught merger</a>. </td></tr> <tr> <td>seam</td> <td>theme</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈsiːm</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>seas</td> <td>seethe</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈsiːz</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>seem</td> <td>theme</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈsiːm</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>sees</td> <td>seethe</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈsiːz</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>seize</td> <td>seethe</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈsiːz</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>sick</td> <td>thick</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈsɪk</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>sigh</td> <td>thigh</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈsaɪ</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>sin</td> <td>thin</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈsɪn</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>sing</td> <td>thing</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈsɪŋ</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>sink</td> <td>think</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈsɪŋk</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>six</td> <td>sixth</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈsɪks</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>size</td> <td>scythe</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈsaɪz</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>soar</td> <td>thaw</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈsɔː</span></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Non-rhotic" class="mw-redirect" title="Non-rhotic">Non-rhotic</a> acents with <a href="/wiki/Horse-hoarse_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Horse-hoarse merger">horse-hoarse merger</a>. </td></tr> <tr> <td>soar</td> <td><a href="/wiki/Thor" title="Thor">Thor</a></td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈsɔː(r)</span></td> <td>With <a href="/wiki/Horse-hoarse_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Horse-hoarse merger">horse-hoarse merger</a>. </td></tr> <tr> <td>soared</td> <td>thawed</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈsɔːd</span></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Non-rhotic" class="mw-redirect" title="Non-rhotic">Non-rhotic</a> accents with <a href="/wiki/Horse-hoarse_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Horse-hoarse merger">horse-hoarse merger</a>. </td></tr> <tr> <td>some</td> <td>thumb</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈsʌm</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>song</td> <td>thong</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈsɒŋ,<span class="wrap"> </span>ˈsɔːŋ</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>sore</td> <td>thaw</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈsɔː</span></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Non-rhotic" class="mw-redirect" title="Non-rhotic">Non-rhotic</a> accents with <a href="/wiki/Horse-hoarse_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Horse-hoarse merger">horse-hoarse merger</a>. </td></tr> <tr> <td>sore</td> <td><a href="/wiki/Thor" title="Thor">Thor</a></td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈsɔː(r)</span></td> <td>With <a href="/wiki/Horse-hoarse_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Horse-hoarse merger">horse-hoarse merger</a>. </td></tr> <tr> <td>sored</td> <td>thawed</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈsɔːd</span></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Non-rhotic" class="mw-redirect" title="Non-rhotic">Non-rhotic</a> accents with <a href="/wiki/Horse-hoarse_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Horse-hoarse merger">horse-hoarse merger</a>. </td></tr> <tr> <td>sort</td> <td>thought</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈsɔːt</span></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Non-rhotic" class="mw-redirect" title="Non-rhotic">Non-rhotic</a> accents. </td></tr> <tr> <td>sought</td> <td>thought</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈsɔːt</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>suds</td> <td>thuds</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈsʌdz</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>sum</td> <td>thumb</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈsʌm</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>sump</td> <td>thump</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈsʌmp</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>sunder</td> <td>thunder</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈsʌndə(r)</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>sunk</td> <td>thunk</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈsʌŋk</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>swart</td> <td>thwart</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈswɔː(r)t</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>sword</td> <td>thawed</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈsɔːd</span></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Non-rhotic" class="mw-redirect" title="Non-rhotic">Non-rhotic</a> accents with <a href="/wiki/Horse-hoarse_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Horse-hoarse merger">horse-hoarse merger</a>. </td></tr> <tr> <td>tense</td> <td>tenth</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈtɛns</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>tents</td> <td>tenth</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈtɛn(t)s</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>truce</td> <td>truth</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈtruːs</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>use (n)</td> <td>youth</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈjuːs</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>whiz</td> <td>with</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈwɪz</span></td> <td>With <a href="/wiki/Wine-whine_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Wine-whine merger">wine-whine merger</a>. </td></tr> <tr> <td>wizard</td> <td>withered</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈwɪzə(r)d</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>worse</td> <td>worth</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈwə(r)s</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>wrasse</td> <td>wrath</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈræs</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>wreath</td> <td><a href="/wiki/Reece_(name)" title="Reece (name)">Reece</a></td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈriːs</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>wreath</td> <td><a href="/wiki/Rhys" title="Rhys">Rhys</a></td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈriːs</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>Z; zee</td> <td>the</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈziː</span></td> <td><i>The</i> before vowels and silent H; but distinct in dialects where <i>Z</i> is <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[zɛd]</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>Z; zee</td> <td>thee</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈziː</span></td> <td>but distinct in dialects where <i>Z</i> is <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[zɛd]</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td>Zs; zees</td> <td>these</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈziːz</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>zen</td> <td>then</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈzɛn</span> </td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="th-debuccalization">th-debuccalization</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9&action=edit&section=17" title="Edit section: th-debuccalization"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In many varieties of <a href="/wiki/Scottish_English" title="Scottish English">Scottish English</a>, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> becomes <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[h]</span> word initially and intervocalically.<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Th-debuccalization occurs mainly in <a href="/wiki/Glasgow" title="Glasgow">Glasgow</a> and across the <a href="/wiki/Central_Belt" title="Central Belt">Central Belt</a>. A common example is <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[hɪŋk]</span> for <i>think</i>. This feature is becoming more common in these places over time, but is still variable.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (August 2009)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> In word final position, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[θ]</span> is used, as in standard English. </p><p>The existence of local <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[h]</span> for <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> in Glasgow complicates the process of <a href="/wiki/Th-fronting" title="Th-fronting">th-fronting</a> there, a process which gives <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[f]</span> for historical <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span>. Unlike in the other dialects with th-fronting, where <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[f]</span> solely varies with <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[θ]</span>, in Glasgow, the introduction of th-fronting there creates a three-way variant system of <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[h]</span>, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[f]</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[θ]</span>. </p><p>Use of <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[θ]</span> marks the local educated norms (the regional standard), while use of <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[h]</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[f]</span> instead mark the local non-standard norms. <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[h]</span> is well known in Glasgow as a vernacular variant of <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> when it occurs at the start of a word and intervocalically, while <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[f]</span> has only recently risen above the level of social consciousness. </p><p>Given that th-fronting is a relatively recent innovation in Glasgow, it was expected that linguists might find evidence for lexical diffusion for <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[f]</span> and the results found from Glaswegian speakers confirm this.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (August 2009)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> The existing and particular lexical distribution of th-debuccalization imposes special constraints on the progress of th-fronting in Glasgow. </p><p>In accents with th-debuccalization, the cluster <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θr/</span> becomes <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[hr]</span>,<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This has been unsourced since 2006, and this is an environment that would seem to be resistant to debuccalization, so a source would be really nice (December 2022)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> giving these dialects a consonant cluster that does not occur in other dialects. The replacement of <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θr/</span> with <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[hr]</span> leads to pronunciations like: </p> <ul><li>three – <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[hri]</span></li> <li>throw – <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[hro]</span></li> <li>through, threw – <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[hrʉ]</span></li> <li>thrash – <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[hraʃ]</span></li> <li>thresh – <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[hrɛʃ]</span></li> <li>thrown, throne – <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[hron]</span></li> <li>thread – <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[hrɛd]</span></li> <li>threat – <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[hrɛt]</span></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Assimilation">Assimilation</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9&action=edit&section=18" title="Edit section: Assimilation"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>As with many English consonants, a process of <a href="/wiki/Assimilation_(phonology)" title="Assimilation (phonology)">assimilation</a> can result in the substitution of other speech sounds in certain phonetic environments. Native speakers do this subconsciously. </p><p>At word boundaries, alveolar stops next to dental fricatives assimilate very regularly, especially in rapid colloquial speech, involving both the <a href="/wiki/Place_of_articulation" title="Place of articulation">place of articulation</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Manner_of_articulation" title="Manner of articulation">manner of articulation</a>: the <i><a href="/wiki/Alveolar_consonant" title="Alveolar consonant">alveolar</a></i> stops become <i><a href="/wiki/Dental_consonant" title="Dental consonant">dental</a></i>, while the dental <i><a href="/wiki/Fricative_consonant" class="mw-redirect" title="Fricative consonant">fricatives</a></i> become <i><a href="/wiki/Stop_consonant" class="mw-redirect" title="Stop consonant">stops</a></i>.<sup id="cite_ref-Roach2009_8-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Roach2009-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-GramleyPátzold2004_9-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-GramleyPátzold2004-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Shockey_11-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Shockey-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The resulting consonant is usually long (<a href="/wiki/Gemination" title="Gemination">geminated</a>) which may be the only audible cue for the speaker to distinguish particular words (for example, the definite and indefinite articles, compare "run the mile" <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ˈɹʌn̪<span class="wrap"> </span>n̪ə<span class="wrap"> </span>ˈmaɪl]</span> and "run a mile" <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ˈɹʌn<span class="wrap"> </span>ə<span class="wrap"> </span>ˈmaɪl]</span>).<sup id="cite_ref-Shockey_11-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Shockey-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <dl><dd><i>i<b>n th</b>e</i>: <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪn<span class="wrap"> </span>ðə/</span> → <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ɪn̪<span class="wrap"> </span>n̪ə]</span></dd> <dd><i>joi<b>n th</b>e army</i>: <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ˈdʒɔɪn<span class="wrap"> </span>ði<span class="wrap"> </span>ˈɑːmi/</span> → <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ˈdʒɔɪn̪<span class="wrap"> </span>n̪i<span class="wrap"> </span>ˈɑːmi]</span></dd> <dd><i>rea<b>d th</b>ese</i>: <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/riːd<span class="wrap"> </span>ðiːz/</span> → <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ɹiːd̪<span class="wrap"> </span>d̪iːz]</span></dd> <dd><i>righ<b>t th</b>ere</i>: <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/raɪt<span class="wrap"> </span>ˈðɛə/</span> → <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ɹaɪt̪<span class="wrap"> </span>ˈt̪ɛə]</span> (more commonly: <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ɹaɪʔ<span class="wrap"> </span>ˈðɛə]</span>, with a glottal stop)</dd> <dd><i>fai<b>l th</b>e test</i>: <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ˈfeɪl<span class="wrap"> </span>ðə<span class="wrap"> </span>ˈtɛst/</span> → <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ˈfeɪl̪<span class="wrap"> </span>l̪ə<span class="wrap"> </span>ˈtɛst]</span></dd></dl> <p>The alveolar fricatives may become dental as well:<sup id="cite_ref-Shockey_11-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Shockey-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <dl><dd><i>thi<b>s th</b>ing</i>: <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ðɪs<span class="wrap"> </span>θɪŋ/</span> → <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ðɪs̪<span class="wrap"> </span>θɪŋ]</span> or <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ðɪs̪<span class="wrap"> </span>s̪ɪŋ]</span></dd> <dd><i>take<b>s th</b>em</i>: <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/teɪks<span class="wrap"> </span>ðəm/</span> → <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[teɪks̪<span class="wrap"> </span>ðm̩]</span> or <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[teɪks̪<span class="wrap"> </span>s̪m̩]</span></dd> <dd><i>wa<b>s th</b>is</i>: <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/wɒz<span class="wrap"> </span>ðɪs/</span> → <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[wɒz̪<span class="wrap"> </span>ðɪs]</span> or <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[wɒz̪<span class="wrap"> </span>z̪ɪs]</span></dd></dl> <p><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span> can also be lost through elision:<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <i>months</i> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[mʌns]</span>, <i>clothes</i> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[kloʊz]</span>. In rapid speech, <i>sixth(s)</i> may be pronounced like <i>six</i>.<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <i>Them</i> may be contracted to <i>'em</i>, and in this case the contraction is often indicated in writing. Some linguists see <i> 'em</i> as originally a separate word, a remnant of Old English <i>hem</i>, but as the apostrophe shows, it is perceived in modern English as a contraction of <i>them</i>.<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Acquisition_problems">Acquisition problems</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9&action=edit&section=19" title="Edit section: Acquisition problems"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Children generally learn the less <a href="/wiki/Markedness" title="Markedness">marked</a> phonemes of the language before the more marked ones. In the case of English-speaking children, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span> are often among the last phonemes to be learnt, frequently not being mastered before the age of five. Prior to this age, many children substitute the sounds <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[f]</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[v]</span> respectively. For small children, <i>fought</i> and <i>thought</i> are therefore homophones. As British and American children begin school at age four and five respectively, this means that many are learning to read and write before they have sorted out these sounds, and the infantile pronunciation is frequently reflected in their spelling errors: <i>ve fing</i> for <i>the thing</i>. </p><p>Children with a <a href="/wiki/Lisp" title="Lisp">lisp</a>, however, have trouble distinguishing <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span> from <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/s/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/z/</span> respectively in speech, using a single <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> or <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span> pronunciation for both, and may never master the correct sounds without speech therapy. The lisp is a common speech impediment in English. </p><p>Foreign learners may have parallel problems. Learners from very many cultural backgrounds have difficulties with English dental fricatives, usually caused by interference with either <a href="/wiki/Sibilant_consonant" class="mw-redirect" title="Sibilant consonant">sibilants</a> or <a href="/wiki/Stop_consonant" class="mw-redirect" title="Stop consonant">stops</a>. Words with a dental fricative adjacent to an alveolar fricative, such as <i>clothes</i> <span style="font-size:85%;">(<span class="noprint"><span class="ext-phonos"><span data-nosnippet="" id="ooui-php-1" class="ext-phonos-PhonosButton noexcerpt oo-ui-widget oo-ui-widget-enabled oo-ui-buttonElement oo-ui-buttonElement-frameless oo-ui-iconElement oo-ui-labelElement oo-ui-buttonWidget" data-ooui="{"_":"mw.Phonos.PhonosButton","href":"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/transcoded\/d\/d0\/En-us-clothes-2.ogg\/En-us-clothes-2.ogg.mp3","rel":["nofollow"],"framed":false,"icon":"volumeUp","label":{"html":"<span class=\"IPA nowrap\" lang=\"und-Latn-fonipa\" title=\"Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)\">\/klo\u028a\u00f0z\/<\/span>"},"data":{"ipa":"","text":"","lang":"en","wikibase":"","file":"En-us-clothes-2.ogg"},"classes":["ext-phonos-PhonosButton","noexcerpt"]}"><a role="button" tabindex="0" href="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/d0/En-us-clothes-2.ogg/En-us-clothes-2.ogg.mp3" rel="nofollow" aria-label="Play audio" title="Play audio" class="oo-ui-buttonElement-button"><span class="oo-ui-iconElement-icon oo-ui-icon-volumeUp"></span><span class="oo-ui-labelElement-label"><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/kloʊðz/</span></span><span class="oo-ui-indicatorElement-indicator oo-ui-indicatorElement-noIndicator"></span></a></span><sup class="ext-phonos-attribution noexcerpt navigation-not-searchable"><a href="/wiki/File:En-us-clothes-2.ogg" title="File:En-us-clothes-2.ogg">ⓘ</a></sup></span></span> or <span class="noprint"><span class="ext-phonos"><span data-nosnippet="" id="ooui-php-2" class="ext-phonos-PhonosButton noexcerpt oo-ui-widget oo-ui-widget-enabled oo-ui-buttonElement oo-ui-buttonElement-frameless oo-ui-iconElement oo-ui-labelElement oo-ui-buttonWidget" data-ooui="{"_":"mw.Phonos.PhonosButton","href":"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/transcoded\/a\/a1\/En-us-clothes.ogg\/En-us-clothes.ogg.mp3","rel":["nofollow"],"framed":false,"icon":"volumeUp","label":{"html":"<span class=\"IPA nowrap\" lang=\"und-Latn-fonipa\" title=\"Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)\">\/klo\u028az\/<\/span>"},"data":{"ipa":"","text":"","lang":"en","wikibase":"","file":"En-us-clothes.ogg"},"classes":["ext-phonos-PhonosButton","noexcerpt"]}"><a role="button" tabindex="0" href="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/a/a1/En-us-clothes.ogg/En-us-clothes.ogg.mp3" rel="nofollow" aria-label="Play audio" title="Play audio" class="oo-ui-buttonElement-button"><span class="oo-ui-iconElement-icon oo-ui-icon-volumeUp"></span><span class="oo-ui-labelElement-label"><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/kloʊz/</span></span><span class="oo-ui-indicatorElement-indicator oo-ui-indicatorElement-noIndicator"></span></a></span><sup class="ext-phonos-attribution noexcerpt navigation-not-searchable"><a href="/wiki/File:En-us-clothes.ogg" title="File:En-us-clothes.ogg">ⓘ</a></sup></span></span>)</span>, <i>truths</i> <span style="font-size:85%;"><span class="noprint"><span class="ext-phonos"><span data-nosnippet="" id="ooui-php-3" class="ext-phonos-PhonosButton noexcerpt oo-ui-widget oo-ui-widget-enabled oo-ui-buttonElement oo-ui-buttonElement-frameless oo-ui-iconElement oo-ui-labelElement oo-ui-buttonWidget" data-ooui="{"_":"mw.Phonos.PhonosButton","href":"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/transcoded\/d\/d7\/En-US_truths.ogg\/En-US_truths.ogg.mp3","rel":["nofollow"],"framed":false,"icon":"volumeUp","label":{"html":"<span class=\"IPA nowrap\" lang=\"und-Latn-fonipa\" title=\"Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)\">\/t\u0279u\u03b8s\/<\/span>"},"data":{"ipa":"","text":"","lang":"en","wikibase":"","file":"En-US truths.ogg"},"classes":["ext-phonos-PhonosButton","noexcerpt"]}"><a role="button" tabindex="0" href="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/d7/En-US_truths.ogg/En-US_truths.ogg.mp3" rel="nofollow" aria-label="Play audio" title="Play audio" class="oo-ui-buttonElement-button"><span class="oo-ui-iconElement-icon oo-ui-icon-volumeUp"></span><span class="oo-ui-labelElement-label"><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/tɹuθs/</span></span><span class="oo-ui-indicatorElement-indicator oo-ui-indicatorElement-noIndicator"></span></a></span><sup class="ext-phonos-attribution noexcerpt navigation-not-searchable"><a href="/wiki/File:En-US_truths.ogg" title="File:En-US truths.ogg">ⓘ</a></sup></span></span></span>, <i>fifths</i> <span style="font-size:85%;">(<span class="noprint"><span class="ext-phonos"><span data-nosnippet="" id="ooui-php-4" class="ext-phonos-PhonosButton noexcerpt oo-ui-widget oo-ui-widget-enabled oo-ui-buttonElement oo-ui-buttonElement-frameless oo-ui-iconElement oo-ui-labelElement oo-ui-buttonWidget" data-ooui="{"_":"mw.Phonos.PhonosButton","href":"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/transcoded\/0\/02\/En-US_fifths.ogg\/En-US_fifths.ogg.mp3","rel":["nofollow"],"framed":false,"icon":"volumeUp","label":{"html":"<span class=\"IPA nowrap\" lang=\"und-Latn-fonipa\" title=\"Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)\">\/f\u026af\u03b8s\/<\/span>"},"data":{"ipa":"","text":"","lang":"en","wikibase":"","file":"En-US fifths.ogg"},"classes":["ext-phonos-PhonosButton","noexcerpt"]}"><a role="button" tabindex="0" href="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/02/En-US_fifths.ogg/En-US_fifths.ogg.mp3" rel="nofollow" aria-label="Play audio" title="Play audio" class="oo-ui-buttonElement-button"><span class="oo-ui-iconElement-icon oo-ui-icon-volumeUp"></span><span class="oo-ui-labelElement-label"><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/fɪfθs/</span></span><span class="oo-ui-indicatorElement-indicator oo-ui-indicatorElement-noIndicator"></span></a></span><sup class="ext-phonos-attribution noexcerpt navigation-not-searchable"><a href="/wiki/File:En-US_fifths.ogg" title="File:En-US fifths.ogg">ⓘ</a></sup></span></span> or <span class="noprint"><span class="ext-phonos"><span data-nosnippet="" id="ooui-php-5" class="ext-phonos-PhonosButton noexcerpt oo-ui-widget oo-ui-widget-enabled oo-ui-buttonElement oo-ui-buttonElement-frameless oo-ui-iconElement oo-ui-labelElement oo-ui-buttonWidget" data-ooui="{"_":"mw.Phonos.PhonosButton","href":"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/transcoded\/c\/c2\/En-US_fifths_%28informal%29.ogg\/En-US_fifths_%28informal%29.ogg.mp3","rel":["nofollow"],"framed":false,"icon":"volumeUp","label":{"html":"<span class=\"IPA nowrap\" lang=\"und-Latn-fonipa\" title=\"Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)\">\/f\u026a\u03b8s\/<\/span>"},"data":{"ipa":"","text":"","lang":"en","wikibase":"","file":"En-US fifths (informal).ogg"},"classes":["ext-phonos-PhonosButton","noexcerpt"]}"><a role="button" tabindex="0" href="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/c2/En-US_fifths_%28informal%29.ogg/En-US_fifths_%28informal%29.ogg.mp3" rel="nofollow" aria-label="Play audio" title="Play audio" class="oo-ui-buttonElement-button"><span class="oo-ui-iconElement-icon oo-ui-icon-volumeUp"></span><span class="oo-ui-labelElement-label"><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/fɪθs/</span></span><span class="oo-ui-indicatorElement-indicator oo-ui-indicatorElement-noIndicator"></span></a></span><sup class="ext-phonos-attribution noexcerpt navigation-not-searchable"><a href="/wiki/File:En-US_fifths_(informal).ogg" title="File:En-US fifths (informal).ogg">ⓘ</a></sup></span></span>)</span>, <i>sixths</i> <span style="font-size:85%;">(<span class="noprint"><span class="ext-phonos"><span data-nosnippet="" id="ooui-php-6" class="ext-phonos-PhonosButton noexcerpt oo-ui-widget oo-ui-widget-enabled oo-ui-buttonElement oo-ui-buttonElement-frameless oo-ui-iconElement oo-ui-labelElement oo-ui-buttonWidget" data-ooui="{"_":"mw.Phonos.PhonosButton","href":"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/transcoded\/1\/1a\/En-us-sixths.ogg\/En-us-sixths.ogg.mp3","rel":["nofollow"],"framed":false,"icon":"volumeUp","label":{"html":"<span class=\"IPA nowrap\" lang=\"und-Latn-fonipa\" title=\"Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)\">\/s\u026aks\u03b8s\/<\/span>"},"data":{"ipa":"","text":"","lang":"en","wikibase":"","file":"En-us-sixths.ogg"},"classes":["ext-phonos-PhonosButton","noexcerpt"]}"><a role="button" tabindex="0" href="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/1/1a/En-us-sixths.ogg/En-us-sixths.ogg.mp3" rel="nofollow" aria-label="Play audio" title="Play audio" class="oo-ui-buttonElement-button"><span class="oo-ui-iconElement-icon oo-ui-icon-volumeUp"></span><span class="oo-ui-labelElement-label"><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/sɪksθs/</span></span><span class="oo-ui-indicatorElement-indicator oo-ui-indicatorElement-noIndicator"></span></a></span><sup class="ext-phonos-attribution noexcerpt navigation-not-searchable"><a href="/wiki/File:En-us-sixths.ogg" title="File:En-us-sixths.ogg">ⓘ</a></sup></span></span>)</span>, <i>anesthetic</i> <span style="font-size:85%;">(<span class="noprint"><span class="ext-phonos"><span data-nosnippet="" id="ooui-php-7" class="ext-phonos-PhonosButton noexcerpt oo-ui-widget oo-ui-widget-enabled oo-ui-buttonElement oo-ui-buttonElement-frameless oo-ui-iconElement oo-ui-labelElement oo-ui-buttonWidget" data-ooui="{"_":"mw.Phonos.PhonosButton","href":"\/\/upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/transcoded\/4\/4d\/En-US_anesthetic.ogg\/En-US_anesthetic.ogg.mp3","rel":["nofollow"],"framed":false,"icon":"volumeUp","label":{"html":"<span class=\"IPA nowrap\" lang=\"und-Latn-fonipa\" title=\"Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)\">\/\u02cc\u00e6n\u0259s\u02c8\u03b8\u025bt\u026ak\/<\/span>"},"data":{"ipa":"","text":"","lang":"en","wikibase":"","file":"En-US anesthetic.ogg"},"classes":["ext-phonos-PhonosButton","noexcerpt"]}"><a role="button" tabindex="0" href="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/4/4d/En-US_anesthetic.ogg/En-US_anesthetic.ogg.mp3" rel="nofollow" aria-label="Play audio" title="Play audio" class="oo-ui-buttonElement-button"><span class="oo-ui-iconElement-icon oo-ui-icon-volumeUp"></span><span class="oo-ui-labelElement-label"><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ˌænəsˈθɛtɪk/</span></span><span class="oo-ui-indicatorElement-indicator oo-ui-indicatorElement-noIndicator"></span></a></span><sup class="ext-phonos-attribution noexcerpt navigation-not-searchable"><a href="/wiki/File:En-US_anesthetic.ogg" title="File:En-US anesthetic.ogg">ⓘ</a></sup></span></span>)</span>, etc., are commonly very difficult for foreign learners to pronounce. Some of these words containing consonant clusters can also be difficult for native speakers, including those using the standard <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span> pronunciations generally, allowing such accepted informal pronunciations of <i>clothes</i> as <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/kloʊz/</span> (a homophone of the verb <i>close</i>) and <i>fifth(s)</i> as <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/fɪθ(s)/</span>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="History_of_the_digraph">History of the digraph</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9&action=edit&section=20" title="Edit section: History of the digraph"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/Th_(digraph)" title="Th (digraph)">Th (digraph)</a></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="⟨th⟩_for_/θ/_and_/ð/"><span id=".E2.9F.A8th.E2.9F.A9_for_.2F.CE.B8.2F_and_.2F.C3.B0.2F"></span><span class="nowrap">⟨th⟩</span> for /θ/ and /ð/</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9&action=edit&section=21" title="Edit section: ⟨th⟩ for /θ/ and /ð/"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Though English speakers take it for granted, the digraph <span class="nowrap">⟨th⟩</span> is in fact not an obvious combination for a dental fricative. The origins of this have to do with developments in Greek. </p><p><a href="/wiki/Proto-Indo-European_language" title="Proto-Indo-European language">Proto-Indo-European</a> had an <a href="/wiki/Aspiration_(phonetics)" class="mw-redirect" title="Aspiration (phonetics)">aspirated</a> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/dʱ/</span> that came into Greek as <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/tʰ/</span>, spelled with the letter theta. In the Greek of <a href="/wiki/Homer" title="Homer">Homer</a> and <a href="/wiki/Plato" title="Plato">Plato</a>, this was still pronounced <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/tʰ/</span>, and therefore when Greek words were borrowed into Latin, theta was transcribed with <span class="nowrap">⟨th⟩</span>. Since <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/tʰ/</span> sounds like <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/t/</span> with a following puff of air, <span class="nowrap">⟨th⟩</span> was the logical spelling in the Latin alphabet. </p><p>By the time of New Testament Greek (<a href="/wiki/Koine" class="mw-redirect" title="Koine">koiné</a>), however, the aspirated stop had shifted to a fricative: <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/tʰ/→/θ/</span>. Thus theta came to have the sound that it still has in <a href="/wiki/Modern_Greek" title="Modern Greek">Modern Greek</a>, and which it represents in the <a href="/wiki/International_Phonetic_Alphabet" title="International Phonetic Alphabet">IPA</a>. From a Latin perspective, the established digraph <span class="nowrap">⟨th⟩</span> now represented the voiceless fricative <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span>, and was used thus for English by French-speaking scribes after the <a href="/wiki/Norman_Conquest" title="Norman Conquest">Norman Conquest</a>, since they were unfamiliar with the Germanic graphemes ð (eth) and þ (thorn). Likewise, the spelling <span class="nowrap">⟨th⟩</span> was used for <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> in <a href="/wiki/Old_High_German" title="Old High German">Old High German</a> prior to the completion of the <a href="/wiki/High_German_consonant_shift" title="High German consonant shift">High German consonant shift</a>, again by analogy with the way Latin represented the Greek sound. It also appeared in early modern <a href="/wiki/Swedish_language" title="Swedish language">Swedish</a> before a final shift to /d/. </p><p>The history of the digraphs <span class="nowrap">⟨ph⟩</span> for <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/f/</span> and <span class="nowrap">⟨ch⟩</span> for Scots, Welsh or German <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/x/</span> is parallel. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="⟨th⟩_for_/t/"><span id=".E2.9F.A8th.E2.9F.A9_for_.2Ft.2F"></span><span class="nowrap">⟨th⟩</span> for /t/</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9&action=edit&section=22" title="Edit section: ⟨th⟩ for /t/"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Since neither <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/tʰ/</span> nor <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> was a native sound in Latin, the tendency emerged at the latest in medieval Latin, to substitute <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/t/</span>. Thus, in many modern languages, including French and German, the <span class="nowrap">⟨th⟩</span> digraph is used in Greek loan-words to represent an original <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span>, but is now pronounced <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/t/</span>: examples are French <i>théâtre</i>, German <i>Theater</i>. In some cases, this etymological <span class="nowrap">⟨th⟩</span>, which has no remaining significance for pronunciation, has been transferred to words in which there is no etymological justification for it. For example, German <i>Tal</i> ('valley', cognate with English <i>dale</i>) appears in many place-names with an archaic spelling <i>Thal</i> (contrast <a href="/wiki/Neandertal_(valley)" title="Neandertal (valley)">Neandertal</a> and <a href="/wiki/Neanderthal" title="Neanderthal">Neanderthal</a>). The <a href="/wiki/German_Orthographic_Conference_of_1901" title="German Orthographic Conference of 1901">German spelling reform of 1901</a> largely reversed these, but they remain in some proper nouns. The name <i><a href="/wiki/Rothschild" title="Rothschild">Rothschild</a></i> is an example of this, being a compound of <span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">rot[h]</i></span> ("red") and <i>Schild</i> ("shield"). </p><p>Examples of this are also to be found in English, perhaps influenced immediately by French. In some Middle English manuscripts, <span class="nowrap">⟨th⟩</span> appears for <span class="nowrap">⟨t⟩</span> or <span class="nowrap">⟨d⟩</span>: <i>tho</i> 'to' or 'do', <i>thyll</i> till, <i>whythe</i> white, <i>thede</i> deed. In Modern English we see it in <i>Esther</i>, <i>Thomas</i>, <i>Thames</i>, <i>thyme</i>, <i>Witham</i> (the town in Essex, not the river in Lincolnshire which is pronounced with <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ð/</span>) and the old spelling of Satan as <i>Sathan</i>. More recently, the name of the capital of Nepal was often written <i>Katmandu</i> down to the late 20th century, but is now usually spelt <i>Kathmandu</i>. </p><p>In a small number of cases, this spelling later influenced the pronunciation: <i>amaranth, amianthus</i> and <i>author</i> have <a href="/wiki/Spelling_pronunciation" title="Spelling pronunciation">spelling pronunciations</a> with <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span>, and some English speakers use <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/θ/</span> in <i>Neanderthal</i>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="⟨th⟩_for_/th/"><span id=".E2.9F.A8th.E2.9F.A9_for_.2Fth.2F"></span><span class="nowrap">⟨th⟩</span> for /th/</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9&action=edit&section=23" title="Edit section: ⟨th⟩ for /th/"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>A few <a href="/wiki/English_compound" title="English compound">English compound</a> words, such as <i>lightheaded</i> or <i>hothouse</i>, have the letter combination <span class="nowrap">⟨th⟩</span> split between the parts, though this is not a digraph. Here, the <span class="nowrap">⟨t⟩</span> and <span class="nowrap">⟨h⟩</span> are pronounced separately (<i>light-headed</i>) as a cluster of two consonants. Other examples are <i>anthill, goatherd, lighthouse, outhouse, pothead</i>; also in words formed with the suffix -<i>hood</i>: <i>knighthood</i>, and the similarly formed Afrikaans loanword <i><a href="/wiki/Apartheid" title="Apartheid">apartheid</a></i>. In a few place names ending in t+ham, the t-h boundary has been lost and become a spelling pronunciation, for example <a href="/wiki/Grantham" title="Grantham">Grantham</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9&action=edit&section=24" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Pronunciation" title="Pronunciation">Pronunciation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/English_pronunciation" class="mw-redirect" title="English pronunciation">English pronunciation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Received_Pronunciation" title="Received Pronunciation">Received Pronunciation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Spelling_pronunciation" title="Spelling pronunciation">Spelling pronunciation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Non-native_pronunciations_of_English" title="Non-native pronunciations of English">Non-native pronunciations of English</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/English_orthography" title="English orthography">English orthography</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Thorn_(letter)" title="Thorn (letter)">Thorn</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Eth" title="Eth">Eth</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9&action=edit&section=25" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Citations">Citations</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9&action=edit&section=26" title="Edit section: Citations"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap mw-references-columns"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-AHD-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-AHD_1-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">The <a href="/wiki/American_Heritage_Dictionary" class="mw-redirect" title="American Heritage Dictionary">American Heritage Dictionary</a>, 1969.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFKenyonKnott1953" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/John_Samuel_Kenyon" title="John Samuel Kenyon">Kenyon, John S.</a>; Knott, Thomas A. (1953) [1944]. <a href="/wiki/A_Pronouncing_Dictionary_of_American_English" title="A Pronouncing Dictionary of American English"><i>A Pronouncing Dictionary of American English</i></a>. Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster. p. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/pronouncingdicti00keny/page/87">87</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-87779-047-7" title="Special:BookSources/0-87779-047-7"><bdi>0-87779-047-7</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=A+Pronouncing+Dictionary+of+American+English&rft.place=Springfield%2C+Mass.&rft.pages=87&rft.pub=Merriam-Webster&rft.date=1953&rft.isbn=0-87779-047-7&rft.aulast=Kenyon&rft.aufirst=John+S.&rft.au=Knott%2C+Thomas+A.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APronunciation+of+English+%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-wright-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-wright_3-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-wright_3-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFWright1981">Wright (1981</a>:137)</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-wells-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-wells_4-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-wells_4-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFWells1982">Wells (1982</a>:329)</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Stoddart, Upton and Widdowson in <i>Urban Voices</i>, Arnold, London, 1999, p. 79</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.rehabmed.ualberta.ca/spa/phonology/features.htm">Phonological Features of African American Vernacular English</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-7">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFWeber2014" class="citation book cs1">Weber, Tobias (February 2014). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=FJ7dAgAAQBAJ&q=Th-debuccalization&pg=PA48"><i>Principles in the Emergence and Evolution of Linguistic Features in World Englishes</i></a>. Anchor Academic Publishing (aap_verlag). <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/9783954891917" title="Special:BookSources/9783954891917"><bdi>9783954891917</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Principles+in+the+Emergence+and+Evolution+of+Linguistic+Features+in+World+Englishes&rft.pub=Anchor+Academic+Publishing+%28aap_verlag%29&rft.date=2014-02&rft.isbn=9783954891917&rft.aulast=Weber&rft.aufirst=Tobias&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DFJ7dAgAAQBAJ%26q%3DTh-debuccalization%26pg%3DPA48&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APronunciation+of+English+%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Roach2009-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Roach2009_8-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFRoach2009" class="citation book cs1">Roach, Peter (2009). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=dDVR_zh5wkMC&pg=PA112"><i>English Phonetics and Phonology</i></a>. Cambridge University Press. p. 112. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-521-71740-3" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-521-71740-3"><bdi>978-0-521-71740-3</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=English+Phonetics+and+Phonology&rft.pages=112&rft.pub=Cambridge+University+Press&rft.date=2009&rft.isbn=978-0-521-71740-3&rft.aulast=Roach&rft.aufirst=Peter&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DdDVR_zh5wkMC%26pg%3DPA112&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APronunciation+of+English+%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-GramleyPátzold2004-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-GramleyPátzold2004_9-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFGramleyPátzold2004" class="citation book cs1">Gramley, Stephan; Pátzold, Michael (2004). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=qFZsXfJsa8kC&pg=PA76"><i>A Survey of Modern English</i></a>. Routledge. p. 76. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-134-42046-9" title="Special:BookSources/978-1-134-42046-9"><bdi>978-1-134-42046-9</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=A+Survey+of+Modern+English&rft.pages=76&rft.pub=Routledge&rft.date=2004&rft.isbn=978-1-134-42046-9&rft.aulast=Gramley&rft.aufirst=Stephan&rft.au=P%C3%A1tzold%2C+Michael&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DqFZsXfJsa8kC%26pg%3DPA76&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APronunciation+of+English+%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-10">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFCollinsMees2013" class="citation book cs1">Collins, Beverley; Mees, Inger M. (2013). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=faVJTQIw9eQC&pg=PA122"><i>Practical Phonetics and Phonology: A Resource Book for Students</i></a>. Routledge. p. 122. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-415-50649-6" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-415-50649-6"><bdi>978-0-415-50649-6</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Practical+Phonetics+and+Phonology%3A+A+Resource+Book+for+Students&rft.pages=122&rft.pub=Routledge&rft.date=2013&rft.isbn=978-0-415-50649-6&rft.aulast=Collins&rft.aufirst=Beverley&rft.au=Mees%2C+Inger+M.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DfaVJTQIw9eQC%26pg%3DPA122&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APronunciation+of+English+%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Shockey-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Shockey_11-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Shockey_11-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Shockey_11-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFShockey2003" class="citation book cs1">Shockey, Linda (2003). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=9OWQGsOB62UC&pg=PA43">"2.5.1 ð-reduction"</a>. <i>Sound Patterns of Spoken English</i>. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 43–44. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780470758243" title="Special:BookSources/9780470758243"><bdi>9780470758243</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=2.5.1+%C3%B0-reduction&rft.btitle=Sound+Patterns+of+Spoken+English&rft.pages=43-44&rft.pub=John+Wiley+%26+Sons&rft.date=2003&rft.isbn=9780470758243&rft.aulast=Shockey&rft.aufirst=Linda&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3D9OWQGsOB62UC%26pg%3DPA43&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APronunciation+of+English+%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-12">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBauerLieberPlag2015" class="citation book cs1">Bauer, Laurie; Lieber, Rochelle; Plag, Ingo (2015). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=EXlYCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA131"><i>The Oxford Reference Guide to English Morphology</i></a>. Oxford University Press. p. 131. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-19-874706-2" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-19-874706-2"><bdi>978-0-19-874706-2</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=The+Oxford+Reference+Guide+to+English+Morphology&rft.pages=131&rft.pub=Oxford+University+Press&rft.date=2015&rft.isbn=978-0-19-874706-2&rft.aulast=Bauer&rft.aufirst=Laurie&rft.au=Lieber%2C+Rochelle&rft.au=Plag%2C+Ingo&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DEXlYCwAAQBAJ%26pg%3DPA131&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APronunciation+of+English+%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-13">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFCollinsMees2013" class="citation book cs1">Collins, Beverley; Mees, Inger M. (2013). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=faVJTQIw9eQC&pg=PA127"><i>Practical Phonetics and Phonology: A Resource Book for Students</i></a>. Routledge. p. 127. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-415-50649-6" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-415-50649-6"><bdi>978-0-415-50649-6</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Practical+Phonetics+and+Phonology%3A+A+Resource+Book+for+Students&rft.pages=127&rft.pub=Routledge&rft.date=2013&rft.isbn=978-0-415-50649-6&rft.aulast=Collins&rft.aufirst=Beverley&rft.au=Mees%2C+Inger+M.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DfaVJTQIw9eQC%26pg%3DPA127&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APronunciation+of+English+%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-14"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-14">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFJones2006" class="citation cs1"><a href="/wiki/Daniel_Jones_(phonetician)" title="Daniel Jones (phonetician)">Jones, Daniel</a> (2006). <a href="/wiki/Peter_Roach_(phonetician)" title="Peter Roach (phonetician)">Roach, Peter</a>; Hartman, James; <a href="/wiki/Jane_Setter" title="Jane Setter">Setter, Jane</a> (eds.). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=jGSXwqTCwpkC&pg=PR15">"Introduction"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/English_Pronouncing_Dictionary" title="English Pronouncing Dictionary">Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary</a></i> (17th ed.). Cambridge University Press. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-521-68086-7" title="Special:BookSources/0-521-68086-7"><bdi>0-521-68086-7</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Cambridge+English+Pronouncing+Dictionary&rft.atitle=Introduction&rft.date=2006&rft.isbn=0-521-68086-7&rft.aulast=Jones&rft.aufirst=Daniel&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DjGSXwqTCwpkC%26pg%3DPR15&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APronunciation+of+English+%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-15"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-15">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Online Etymology Dictionary. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=%27em&searchmode=none">'em</a>. Retrieved 18 September 2006.</span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Sources">Sources</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9&action=edit&section=27" title="Edit section: Sources"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239549316">.mw-parser-output .refbegin{margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>ul{margin-left:0}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>ul>li{margin-left:0;padding-left:3.2em;text-indent:-3.2em}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents ul,.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents ul li{list-style:none}@media(max-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>ul>li{padding-left:1.6em;text-indent:-1.6em}}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-columns ul{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .refbegin{font-size:90%}}</style><div class="refbegin" style=""> <ul><li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFCollinsMees2013" class="citation cs2">Collins, Beverley; Mees, Inger M. (2013) [First published 2003], <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=faVJTQIw9eQC"><i>Practical Phonetics and Phonology: A Resource Book for Students</i></a> (3rd ed.), Routledge, <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-415-50650-2" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-415-50650-2"><bdi>978-0-415-50650-2</bdi></a></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Practical+Phonetics+and+Phonology%3A+A+Resource+Book+for+Students&rft.edition=3rd&rft.pub=Routledge&rft.date=2013&rft.isbn=978-0-415-50650-2&rft.aulast=Collins&rft.aufirst=Beverley&rft.au=Mees%2C+Inger+M.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DfaVJTQIw9eQC&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APronunciation+of+English+%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li>Shitara, Yuko (1993). "A survey of American pronunciation preferences." <i>Speech Hearing and Language</i> 7: 201–32.</li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFWells1982" class="citation cs2"><a href="/wiki/John_C._Wells" title="John C. Wells">Wells, John C.</a> (1982), <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=a3-ElL71fikC"><i>Accents of English 2: The British Isles</i></a>, Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-521-24224-X" title="Special:BookSources/0-521-24224-X"><bdi>0-521-24224-X</bdi></a></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Accents+of+English+2%3A+The+British+Isles&rft.place=Cambridge%2C+England&rft.pub=Cambridge+University+Press&rft.date=1982&rft.isbn=0-521-24224-X&rft.aulast=Wells&rft.aufirst=John+C.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3Da3-ElL71fikC&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APronunciation+of+English+%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFWright1981" class="citation cs2">Wright, Peter (1981), <i>Cockney Dialect and Slang</i>, London, England: B.T. Batsford Ltd.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Cockney+Dialect+and+Slang&rft.place=London%2C+England&rft.pub=B.T.+Batsford+Ltd.&rft.date=1981&rft.aulast=Wright&rft.aufirst=Peter&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APronunciation+of+English+%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9" class="Z3988"></span></li></ul> </div> <div style="clear:both;" class=""></div> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236075235">.mw-parser-output .navbox{box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #a2a9b1;width:100%;clear:both;font-size:88%;text-align:center;padding:1px;margin:1em auto 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbox{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox-styles+.navbox{margin-top:-1px}.mw-parser-output .navbox-inner,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{width:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-title,.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow{padding:0.25em 1em;line-height:1.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group{white-space:nowrap;text-align:right}.mw-parser-output .navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{background-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list{line-height:1.5em;border-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list-with-group{text-align:left;border-left-width:2px;border-left-style:solid}.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-group,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-image,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-list{border-top:2px solid #fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title{background-color:#ccf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-title{background-color:#ddf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-abovebelow{background-color:#e6e6ff}.mw-parser-output .navbox-even{background-color:#f7f7f7}.mw-parser-output .navbox-odd{background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ul,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ul{padding:0.125em 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbar{display:block;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title .navbar{float:left;text-align:left;margin-right:0.5em}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .navbox-image img{max-width:none!important}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .navbox{display:none!important}}</style></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="History_of_English" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks mw-collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239400231"><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:History_of_English" title="Template:History of English"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:History_of_English" title="Template talk:History of English"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:History_of_English" title="Special:EditPage/Template:History of English"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="History_of_English" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/History_of_English" title="History of English">History of English</a></div></th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Proto-Indo-European_language" title="Proto-Indo-European language">Proto-Indo-European</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Proto-Germanic_language" title="Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/West_Germanic_languages" title="West Germanic languages">Proto-West-Germanic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Anglo-Frisian_languages" title="Anglo-Frisian languages">Anglo-Frisian languages</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Old_English" title="Old English">Old English</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Kentish_Old_English" title="Kentish Old English">Kentish</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mercian_dialect" title="Mercian dialect">Mercian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Northumbrian_Old_English" title="Northumbrian Old English">Northumbrian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/West_Saxon_dialect" title="West Saxon dialect">West Saxon</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Anglo-Norman_language" title="Anglo-Norman language">Anglo-Norman language</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Middle_English" title="Middle English">Middle English</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Early_Modern_English" title="Early Modern English">Early Modern English</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Modern_English" title="Modern English">Modern English</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks mw-collapsible expanded navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><div id="Phonological_history" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English" title="Phonological history of English">Phonological history</a></div></th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_vowels" title="Phonological history of English vowels">Vowels</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8a%E2%9F%A9" title="Pronunciation of English ⟨a⟩"><i>A</i></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/English-language_vowel_changes_before_historic_/l/" title="English-language vowel changes before historic /l/">Changes before historic <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/l/</span></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/English-language_vowel_changes_before_historic_/r/" title="English-language vowel changes before historic /r/">Changes before historic <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/r/</span></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_close_back_vowels" title="Phonological history of English close back vowels">Close back vowels</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_close_front_vowels" title="Phonological history of English close front vowels">Close front vowels</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_diphthongs" title="Phonological history of English diphthongs">Diphthongs</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Great_Vowel_Shift" title="Great Vowel Shift">Great Vowel Shift</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_open_back_vowels" title="Phonological history of English open back vowels">Open back vowels</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Trisyllabic_laxing" title="Trisyllabic laxing">Trisyllabic laxing</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_consonants" title="Phonological history of English consonants">Consonants</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_consonant_clusters" title="Phonological history of English consonant clusters">Clusters</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Flapping" title="Flapping">Flapping</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/H-dropping" title="H-dropping"><i>H</i>-dropping</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/L-vocalization" title="L-vocalization"><i>L</i>-vocalization</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8ng%E2%9F%A9" title="Pronunciation of English ⟨ng⟩"><i>Ng</i></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rhoticity_in_English" title="Rhoticity in English">Rhoticity</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/T-glottalization" title="T-glottalization"><i>T</i>-glottalization</a></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink"><i>Th</i></a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Th-fronting" title="Th-fronting">fronting</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Th-stopping" title="Th-stopping">stopping</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8wh%E2%9F%A9" title="Pronunciation of English ⟨wh⟩"><i>Wh</i></a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div>    </div><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1&useformat=desktop" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"></noscript> <div class="printfooter" data-nosnippet="">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pronunciation_of_English_⟨th⟩&oldid=1260517032">https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pronunciation_of_English_⟨th⟩&oldid=1260517032</a>"</div></div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Help:Category" title="Help:Category">Categories</a>: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:English_phonology" title="Category:English phonology">English phonology</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:English_th" title="Category:English th">English th</a></li></ul></div><div id="mw-hidden-catlinks" class="mw-hidden-catlinks mw-hidden-cats-hidden">Hidden categories: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Pages_using_the_Phonos_extension" title="Category:Pages using the Phonos extension">Pages using the Phonos extension</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Pages_with_plain_IPA" title="Category:Pages with plain IPA">Pages with plain IPA</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_with_short_description" title="Category:Articles with short description">Articles with short description</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Short_description_is_different_from_Wikidata" title="Category:Short description is different from Wikidata">Short description is different from Wikidata</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Use_British_English_from_March_2019" title="Category:Use British English from March 2019">Use British English from March 2019</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Use_dmy_dates_from_December_2020" title="Category:Use dmy dates from December 2020">Use dmy dates from December 2020</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_needing_additional_references_from_May_2018" title="Category:Articles needing additional references from May 2018">Articles needing additional references from May 2018</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:All_articles_needing_additional_references" title="Category:All articles needing additional references">All articles needing additional references</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:All_articles_with_unsourced_statements" title="Category:All articles with unsourced statements">All articles with unsourced statements</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_with_unsourced_statements_from_July_2020" title="Category:Articles with unsourced statements from July 2020">Articles with unsourced statements from July 2020</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_containing_Scots-language_text" title="Category:Articles containing Scots-language text">Articles containing Scots-language text</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_containing_Middle_English_(1100-1500)-language_text" title="Category:Articles containing Middle English (1100-1500)-language text">Articles containing Middle English (1100-1500)-language text</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_with_unsourced_statements_from_July_2019" title="Category:Articles with unsourced statements from July 2019">Articles with unsourced statements from July 2019</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_with_unsourced_statements_from_August_2009" title="Category:Articles with unsourced statements from August 2009">Articles with unsourced statements from August 2009</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_with_unsourced_statements_from_December_2022" title="Category:Articles with unsourced statements from December 2022">Articles with unsourced statements from December 2022</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Pages_including_recorded_pronunciations" title="Category:Pages including recorded pronunciations">Pages including recorded pronunciations</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_containing_German-language_text" title="Category:Articles containing German-language text">Articles containing German-language text</a></li></ul></div></div> </div> </main> </div> <div class="mw-footer-container"> <footer id="footer" class="mw-footer" > <ul id="footer-info"> <li id="footer-info-lastmod"> This page was last edited on 1 December 2024, at 05:44<span class="anonymous-show"> (UTC)</span>.</li> <li id="footer-info-copyright">Text is available under the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_the_Creative_Commons_Attribution-ShareAlike_4.0_International_License" title="Wikipedia:Text of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License</a>; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the <a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Terms_of_Use" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Terms of Use">Terms of Use</a> and <a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy" class="extiw" title="foundation:Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy policy">Privacy Policy</a>. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://wikimediafoundation.org/">Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.</a>, a non-profit organization.</li> </ul> <ul id="footer-places"> <li id="footer-places-privacy"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Privacy_policy">Privacy policy</a></li> <li id="footer-places-about"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:About">About Wikipedia</a></li> <li id="footer-places-disclaimers"><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:General_disclaimer">Disclaimers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-contact"><a href="//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Contact_us">Contact Wikipedia</a></li> <li id="footer-places-wm-codeofconduct"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Universal_Code_of_Conduct">Code of Conduct</a></li> <li id="footer-places-developers"><a href="https://developer.wikimedia.org">Developers</a></li> <li id="footer-places-statslink"><a href="https://stats.wikimedia.org/#/en.wikipedia.org">Statistics</a></li> <li id="footer-places-cookiestatement"><a href="https://foundation.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:MyLanguage/Policy:Cookie_statement">Cookie statement</a></li> <li id="footer-places-mobileview"><a href="//en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9&mobileaction=toggle_view_mobile" class="noprint stopMobileRedirectToggle">Mobile view</a></li> </ul> <ul id="footer-icons" class="noprint"> <li id="footer-copyrightico"><a href="https://wikimediafoundation.org/" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button--enabled"><img src="/static/images/footer/wikimedia-button.svg" width="84" height="29" alt="Wikimedia Foundation" loading="lazy"></a></li> <li id="footer-poweredbyico"><a href="https://www.mediawiki.org/" class="cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--size-large cdx-button--fake-button--enabled"><img src="/w/resources/assets/poweredby_mediawiki.svg" alt="Powered by MediaWiki" width="88" height="31" loading="lazy"></a></li> </ul> </footer> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-settings" id="p-dock-bottom"> <ul></ul> </div><script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.config.set({"wgHostname":"mw-web.codfw.main-7c4dcdbb87-vlv95","wgBackendResponseTime":187,"wgPageParseReport":{"limitreport":{"cputime":"1.161","walltime":"1.369","ppvisitednodes":{"value":6862,"limit":1000000},"postexpandincludesize":{"value":213178,"limit":2097152},"templateargumentsize":{"value":10464,"limit":2097152},"expansiondepth":{"value":12,"limit":100},"expensivefunctioncount":{"value":18,"limit":500},"unstrip-depth":{"value":1,"limit":20},"unstrip-size":{"value":90614,"limit":5000000},"entityaccesscount":{"value":0,"limit":400},"timingprofile":["100.00% 1209.472 1 -total"," 27.87% 337.081 366 Template:IPA"," 15.85% 191.755 1 Template:Reflist"," 10.52% 127.244 9 Template:Lang"," 9.80% 118.567 8 Template:Cite_book"," 7.76% 93.875 1 Template:English_phonology_topics"," 7.52% 90.998 1 Template:Sidebar"," 6.35% 76.755 1 Template:Short_description"," 5.09% 61.606 1 Template:More_citations_needed"," 4.82% 58.261 1 Template:Ambox"]},"scribunto":{"limitreport-timeusage":{"value":"0.712","limit":"10.000"},"limitreport-memusage":{"value":14901939,"limit":52428800},"limitreport-logs":"anchor_id_list = table#1 {\n [\"CITEREFBauerLieberPlag2015\"] = 1,\n [\"CITEREFCollinsMees2013\"] = 3,\n [\"CITEREFGramleyPátzold2004\"] = 1,\n [\"CITEREFKenyonKnott1953\"] = 1,\n [\"CITEREFRoach2009\"] = 1,\n [\"CITEREFShockey2003\"] = 1,\n [\"CITEREFWeber2014\"] = 1,\n [\"CITEREFWells1982\"] = 1,\n [\"CITEREFWright1981\"] = 1,\n}\ntemplate_list = table#1 {\n [\"-\"] = 1,\n [\"Angbr\"] = 41,\n [\"Audio\"] = 5,\n [\"Citation\"] = 3,\n [\"Citation needed\"] = 5,\n [\"Cite EPD\"] = 1,\n [\"Cite book\"] = 8,\n [\"DEFAULTSORT:Pronunciation Of English Th\"] = 1,\n [\"English phonology topics\"] = 1,\n [\"Harvcoltxt\"] = 2,\n [\"History of the English language\"] = 1,\n [\"IPA\"] = 362,\n [\"IPA notice\"] = 1,\n [\"IPAplink\"] = 5,\n [\"IPAslink\"] = 4,\n [\"Lang\"] = 9,\n [\"Main\"] = 2,\n [\"More citations needed\"] = 1,\n [\"Not a typo\"] = 2,\n [\"Pronunciation\"] = 2,\n [\"Refbegin\"] = 1,\n [\"Refend\"] = 1,\n [\"Reflist\"] = 1,\n [\"See also\"] = 1,\n [\"Short description\"] = 1,\n [\"Small\"] = 3,\n [\"Use British English\"] = 1,\n [\"Use dmy dates\"] = 1,\n}\narticle_whitelist = table#1 {\n}\nciteref_patterns = table#1 {\n}\n"},"cachereport":{"origin":"mw-web.codfw.main-5857dfdcd6-mppcj","timestamp":"20241203075022","ttl":2592000,"transientcontent":false}}});});</script> <script type="application/ld+json">{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Article","name":"Pronunciation of English \u27e8th\u27e9","url":"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9","sameAs":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q3923939","mainEntity":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q3923939","author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Contributors to Wikimedia projects"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.wikimedia.org\/static\/images\/wmf-hor-googpub.png"}},"datePublished":"2005-05-11T16:29:11Z","dateModified":"2024-12-01T05:44:28Z","headline":"consonant sounds associated with the digraph \u27e8th\u27e9"}</script> </body> </html>