A short description of the sound:

This is the voiced equivalent of the /tʃ/ sound. Try not to cause any air escape on both of the sounds incorporated in this phoneme. Imagine that you are pushing the air back into your lungs. It is almost impossible to voice one sound without voicing the other, so make sure that /d/ is properly pronounced and slide quickly on to /ʒ/.

Words containing the phoneme:

Now, try yourself and practice the sound by pronouncing those sentences. Good luck!

• Change the subject.
• The English language.
• Sister Susie sewing shirts for soldiers.
• Judge not, lest you be judged.
• Be just before you are generous.
• Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager managing an imaginary menagerie.

References:

Ponsonby, M. (1982). How Now, Brown Cow? Prentice Hall.

Wells, J. C. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary for Upper Intermediate – Advanced Learners. Harlow, Essex, England: Pearson Education Limited.

A brief description of the sound:

As the symbol implies, this sound is actually a combination of two phonemes, however, they are produced so close that they count as one. The /t/ is not aspirated, but slides straight to previously covered in this blog /ʃ/, and after this the air is released. There is a very similar sound in Polish, but it differs slightly, nonetheless.

Words containing this phoneme:

Now, try yourself and practice the sound by pronouncing those sentences. Good luck!

• Catch as catch can.
• Children are poor men’s riches.
• You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.
• Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched.
• Such a charming child!
• How much wood would a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

References:

Ponsonby, M. (1982). How Now, Brown Cow? Prentice Hall.

Wells, J. C. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary for Upper Intermediate – Advanced Learners. Harlow, Essex, England: Pearson Education Limited.

A short description of the sound:

To produce this sound, begin with the mouth slightly open. Breathe through your nose. You can use a mirror, that you can put in front of you, to see that the back of the tongue rises, and the soft palate comes down to meet it, which blocks off the passage of air to the mouth. Now, vibrate the vocal cords so that you actually produce a sound. Basically, that sound will be the consonant /ŋ/.  

Words containing the phoneme:

Now, try yourself and practice the sound by reading a short, humorous dialogue. Good luck!

References:

Ponsonby, M. (1982). How Now, Brown Cow? Prentice Hall.

Wells, J. C. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary for Upper Intermediate – Advanced Learners. Harlow, Essex, England: Pearson Education Limited.

A brief description of the sound:

The sound /ʒ/ is the voiced equivalent of the phoneme /ʃ/. Start off by making sure that you have mastered /ʃ/ and you pronounce it correctly. Then, being careful not to move any of your speech organs, vibrate the vocal cords. This sound produces very strong, palpable and noticeable vibrations.

Words containing this phoneme:

Now, try yourself and practice the sound by pronouncing those sentences. Good luck!

• Confusion worse confounded.
• Your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.
• That man is richest whose pleasures are the cheapest.
• Stolen pleasures are sweetest.

References:

Ponsonby, M. (1982). How Now, Brown Cow? Prentice Hall.

Wells, J. C. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary for Upper Intermediate – Advanced Learners. Harlow, Essex, England: Pearson Education Limited.

A short description of the sound:

For the sake of pronouncing this sound the tongue is pulled further back than for /s/, and the tip of the tongue is lifted to midway between the teeth. If you are not sure whether you do it right, you might try to purse your lips as for the /w/ sound, which will help you in the beginning. After this, you should be able to notice the difference between your /s/ and /ʃ/. Start with the tip of the tongue actually between your teeth. Draw it back slowly till you are saying /s/, then even further still. You should be able to hear and feel the change in the quality of sound.  

Words containing the phoneme:

Words mainly from French:

Now, try yourself and practice the sound by pronouncing those sentences. Good luck!

• Share and share alike.
• Ship to shore communication.
• She sells sea shells on the sea shore.
• Short and sweet – and the shorter the sweeter.
• To manage on a shoestring.
• Shear your sheep in May, you shear them all away.  

References:

Ponsonby, M. (1982). How Now, Brown Cow? Prentice Hall.

Wells, J. C. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary for Upper Intermediate – Advanced Learners. Harlow, Essex, England: Pearson Education Limited.

A brief description of the sound:

This sound is a voiced equivalent of the consonant /θ/. The effort of the process of voicing presses your tongue a little further forward, pushing it harder against the teeth.

Words containing this phoneme:

Now, try yourself and practice the sound by pronouncing those two sentences:

• Birds of a feather flock together.
• He that speaks, sows, and he that holds his peace, gathers.

As a literary variety – a fragment of Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Try to read it aloud, with passion and engagement, as if you were an actor in the theatre. Enjoy and appreciate!

This above all – to thine own self be true,

And I must follow, as the night the day,

Thou canst not the be false to any man.

References:

Ponsonby, M. (1982). How Now, Brown Cow? Prentice Hall.

Wells, J. C. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary for Upper Intermediate – Advanced Learners. Harlow, Essex, England: Pearson Education Limited.

A short description of the sound:

In this post, you will learn how to articulate the voiceless consonant /θ/, the voiceless version of the pronunciation of the combination of letters th found very often in English words. In order to make this sound, put your tongue between your teeth, open your mouth just a little bit, take a breath and blow out the air, and be careful not to let your tongue move from its position. This sound is quite problematic and difficult to pronounce, and it is repeatedly mispronounced by the non-native speakers of English as either /f/ or /t/.

Words containing the phoneme:

Numbers that will give your tongue a twist while being pronuonced aloud. Enjoy!

3, 33, 333, 3 333, 33 333

Now, try yourself and practice the sound by pronouncing those sentences. Good luck!

• Through thick and thin. 
• Set a thief to catch a thief.
• They’re as thick as thieves.
• My feet had run through thrice a thousand years.
• If a thing’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well.
• Truth and roses have thorns.
• Thirty days hath September.

References:

Ponsonby, M. (1982). How Now, Brown Cow? Prentice Hall.

Wells, J. C. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary for Upper Intermediate – Advanced Learners. Harlow, Essex, England: Pearson Education Limited.