N+TH: Pronunciation Shortcut for “tenth”
It can be challenging to pronounce the /TH/ sound, especially when it is next to another consonant. We saw in a previous lesson that /TH/ can be optionally deleted if it is in the middle of a cluster of three consonants, e.g. “depths”. This is called the Rule of Three and can be a useful (optional) strategy for mastering the pronunciation of difficult consonant clusters (strings of multiple consonants).
Fortunately, there are other strategies you can use to master /TH/ pronunciation through simplification.
One such strategy is called “coarticulation”. “Coarticulation” is a fancy term for pronunciation shortcuts natives speaker take to reduce effort. Coarticularion occurs when adjacent sounds overlap in pronunciation. This is a natural behavior found in all languages. For example, when two consonants are next to each other, the mouth movements used to make these two sounds will overlap somewhat, such that features of one will blend into another.
For example, the /K/ sound can be pronounced many different ways. The /K/ in “key” is pronounced with a more forward tongue position than the /K/ in the word “cool”. This is because the vowel in “key” has an advanced, fronted tongue position /EE/ (IPA /i/) and influences where the tongue lands for pronunciation of /K/. This is coarticulation between the /K/ and /EE/ sounds.
Coarticulation is something that we often aren’t consciously aware of when speaking our native language(s). We do it without thinking about it. When we learn a second or third language, we aren’t aware of these subtle coarticulations. Pronouncing a second language without coarticulation is part of what gives us a perceived “accent”.
What makes /TH/ difficult when it comes to coarticulation is that it’s the only consonant in English that’s pronounced with the tongue on the teeth. So when it’s right next to a consonant that is pronounced further back in the mouth, it can be difficult to transition. Clients have told be that is feels like doing impossible tongue gymnastics! One place where you can take a coarticulation shortcut is when /N/ comes before /TH/.
/N/ and /TH/ Coarticulation
The time and effort it takes to transition between /N/ (tongue on alveolar ridge behind teeth) and /TH/ (tongue on the teeth), for example, interrupts rhythm and sounds (and feels!) forced and awkward.
Here’s a secret: Most native speakers take short cuts… called coarticulation. Consider the phrase “on the way”. You can pronounce the /N/ on the teeth here. I don’t move my tongue at all when transitioning between /N/ and /TH/ in this phrase. It sounds completely natural and acceptable to English-speaking listeners to pronounce /N/ on the teeth in this context. In fact, not pronouncing /N/ on the teeth here increases your chance of taking too long, sounding awkward, and interrupting rhythm. You also increase your chance of pronouncing /TH/ in the wrong place. Remember that /TH/ is pronounced with the tongue against the teeth.
Here are two more examples of where you can pronounce /N/ on the teeth:
in the way
tenth
Here is the rule:
When /N/ comes before a /TH/ sound, either within a word or between words, coarticulate (blend) the sounds by pronouncing the /N/ on the teeth to improve rhythm and ease of pronunciation.
Note that when /N/ and /TH/ are adjacent but the order is reversed, you should NOT pronounce the /N/ on the teeth. It sounds unacceptable in that context. For example, “both new”. If I were to pronounce /N/ on the teeth in this phrase it sounds unacceptable, for whatever reason. Remember that languages are collections of patterns of human behavior and rarely make complete logical sense.
Also note that you should not pronounce /N/ on the teeth in any other context, e.g. plans, ten, “on a table”, etc.. In all other contexts, it only sounds acceptable to pronounce /N/ on the alveolar ridge (bony ridge behind the teeth).
Here are a few examples for listening practice:
ninth
tenth
eleventh
thirteenth
month
anthem
on the way
in the way
bend the truth (delete /d/ with Rule of Three and say /n/ on teeth. Trust me this sounds acceptable and is much easier to say)
In sum, if you struggle with the pronunciation of /TH/, if you struggle with consonant clusters, if you struggle with rhythm, I recommend that you adopt this /N/ + /TH/ coarticulation strategy to improve clarity and rhythm.