The most common word in the English language is THE, so after the schwa, [th] would be the sound

you
would hear most often, which is why it is so important to master it. ([th] also exists in English, Greek and
Castillian Spanish.) Besides 'the,' there are several other very common words that start with a voiced [th]:

• this • those • their

• that • they • there

• that • them • then

Just as with most of the other consonants, there are two types— voiced and unvoiced. The voiced TH is
like a D, but instead of being in back of the teeth, it's 1/4 inch lower and forward, between the teeth. The
unvoiced TH is like an S between the teeth. Most people tend to replace the unvoiced TH with S or T and
the voiced one with Z or D. Instead of thing, they say sing, or ting. Instead of that, they say zat or dat.

To pronounce TH correctly, think of a snake's tongue. You don't want to take a big relaxed tongue and
push it far between your teeth and just leave it out there. Make only a very quick, sharp little movement.
Keep the tip of your tongue very tense. It darts out between your teeth and snaps back very quickly

Here is a list of common letter combinations with silent letters. This list contains most of the
silent letters that give English as a second language students difficulties.

Silent B

B is not pronounced when following M at the end of a word.

climb
crumb
dumb
comb
Silent C

C is not pronounced in the ending "scle"

muscle

Silent D

D is not pronounced in the following common words:

handkerchief
sandwich
Wednesday

Silent E

E is not pronounced at the end of words and usually makes the vowel long.
hope
drive
gave
write
site

Silent G

G is not often not pronounced when followed by an N

champagne
foreign
sign
feign

Silent GH

GH is not pronounced before T and at the end of many words

thought
through
daughter
light
might
right
fight
weigh
Silent H

H is not pronounced when following W. Some speakers whisper the H before the W.

what
when
where
whether
why

Silent H

H is not pronounced at the beginning of many words. Use the article "an" with unvoiced H.
Here are some of the most common:

hour
honest
honor
heir
herb
Pronounced H

H is pronounced at the beginning of these common words. Use the article "a" with voiced
H.

hill
history
height
happy
hangover
Silent K

K is not pronounced when followed by N at the beginning of a word.

knife
knee
know
knock
knowledge

Silent L

L is often not pronounced before L, D, F, M, K.

calm
half
salmon
talk
balk
would
should

Silent N

N is not pronounced following M at the end of a word.

autumn
hymn

Silent P

P is not pronounced at the beginning of many words using the suffix "psych" and "pneu".

psychiatrist
pneumonia
psychotherapy
psychotic
Silent S

S is not pronounced before L in the following words:

island
isle

Silent T

T is not pronounced in these common words:

castle
Christmas
fasten
listen
often
whistle
thistle

Silent U

U is not pronounced before after G and before a vowel.

guess
guidance
guitar
guest

Silent W

W is not pronounced at the beginning of a word followed by an R.

wrap
write
wrong

Silent W

W is not pronounced with these three pronouns:

who
whose
whom
 Not so much authentic

Here are 3 common American English pronunciation problems made by Indian language
speakers.

1. Indian speakers tend to use a /v/ sound instead of a /w/ sound in words such as; we, will, went
& wine.

2. Indian speakers tend to use a /d/ sound instead of the voiced th sound in words such as; the,
there, mother & brother.

Since these sounds occur so often in the spoken language, learning to say them correctly will
really help neutralize your accent.

3. A third area of concern for South Asians is the way they use syllable stress when pronouncing
American English words. Their tendency to stress the first syllable in each word causes
confusion and makes it very difficult for American English speakers to understand what they are
saying.

The vowel sound in the word can’t is /æ/ as in man. Let your jaw drop a bit to make this sound.
The tip of your tongue is behind your lower teeth. When you say the /æ/ sound lengthen it and
raise your pitch just a bit.

3. The vowel sound in the word can is often a schwa /ə/ sound. The schwa is the reduced vowel
sound that sounds like “uh”.

The use of the labiodental fricatives [f] and [v] for the dental fricatives [θ] and [ð] is
a well known feature of Cockney. Th-fronting refers to the pronunciation of the
English "th" as "f" or "v". When th-fronting is applied, /θ/ becomes /f/ (for example,
three is pronounced as free) and /ð/ becomes /v/ (for example, with is pronounced
as wiv).

• “Qu” are always together and sound like “kw”. Examples: queen, quit, quiet, quick
• When "g" is followed by "e”, “i”, or “y”, “g” usually sounds like "j”. Examples:
“gem”, “gym”, “generous”, “giant”
• When "c" is followed by "e”, “i”, or “y”, “c” usually sounds like "s”. Examples:
“city”, “cyst”, “centimeter”, “certain”
• When “wh” is followed by “o”, “wh” usually sounds like “h”. Examples: “who”,
“whole”, “whose”, “whom”
• When “wh” is followed by “a”, “e”, “i”, or “y”, “wh” usually sounds like “w”.
Examples: “where”, “why”, “what”, “whine”, “wheel”
• When “o” is before “ck”, “o” sounds like “ah”. Examples: “stock”, “block”, “rock”,
“pocket”