Pronouncing *th s* (*=wildcard)

Hello,

I was wondering if any of you guys could help me with me very specific pronounciation problem...

I have trouble pronouncing words starting with an 'S' if they follow a word that ends with a TH.

Example: ... with somebody

I get it right if I pause between the words which doesn't exactly sound too great, either. If I don't, most of the times it's more like with...thomebody.

I don't think there's an exact explanation on the matter, but there might be some suggestions on how to practice this sequence of words.

Best regards

Thomas

(1) Try drawing out the "th" sound and then shifting to the "s" sound until you discover the timing of getting your tongue out of the way of your teeth when you close them together. Be sure you don't interrupt the air flow.

(2) Practice saying "withs".

(3) Practice saying "withsome".

Just a suggestion -- I've never thought about it before.

Thomas:

Are you a native English speaker?

Not unless he has a lisp. I think most native speakers are used to doing what Deborah describes.

I have recorded a small (500 kb) mp3 file so you can actually listen to my problem

<a href="http://mitglied.lycos.de/jsxlinks/forum-1.mp3">click</a>

not sure if html is actually activated, so here's the link once more:

http://mitglied.lycos.de/jsxlinks/forum-1.mp3

I only ask because "th" is one of those so-called "Standard English" sounds that native English speakers of a number of dialects don't use.

Hence the very common "dat/dis/dose" of some Irish English speakers, or the "trouble at t'e mill" of some Northern English speakers.

A6083OC:
<<Hence the very common "dat/dis/dose" of some Irish English speakers, or the "trouble at t'e mill" of some Northern English speakers.>>

Are you referring to, among others, the Yorkshire accent? It doesn't seem to me that that would result from not having "th" in the dialect, since they do have that sound. I don't know how the "t" replacing "the" came about, however.

Actually, in Birmingham, where I live, a lot of people don't use the 'th' sound. Instead, they replace it with either a 'f' sound, a 'v' sound or a 'd' sound. Example:

I fink dat vere will be lots of fings to do when we get dere.

(Birmingham is in the middle of England, by the way — I don't mean the one in Alabama).

I see some common misconceptions here, largely a result of the pernicious influence of "RP" and "Standard English."

"I don't know how the 't' replacing 'the' came about."

"[T]hey replace it with either a 'f' sound, a 'v' sound or a 'd' sound."

The speakers of these dialects don't "replace" anything; they simply don't use the sound "th" in these instances.

Insisting on a wholly arbitrary (and artificial) "standard" of English pronunciation permits heaps of scorn to be laid on those whose dialects vary from it.