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Original poster

To think i don't have a speech impediment

285 replies

McColonel · 20/12/2015 23:53

To me, F and TH are pronounced exactly the same. E.g. three and free - I say them in exactly the same way.

My wife says I can't pronounce th, and I always pronounce an F when it should be TH.

Does anyone agree with me, that they are pronounced the same? Or is she right, and I can't speak properly? My brother agrees with me.

OP posts:
ElinorRochdale · 21/12/2015 12:03

I'm curious: people who can't hear a difference between th and f, can you see a difference in the way someone's lips move when they're saying the sounds? My mouth feels like it's making completely different shapes when I say 'three four five', or between 'feather' and 'fevver'. Any lip readers here who can say what it looks like to them?

Sallystyle · 21/12/2015 12:19

I do have an overbite and a short tongue!

derxa · 21/12/2015 12:37

The father in the Fucking Fulfords could not pronounce th. He didn't have an Estuary English accent.
'speech impediment' is a very old fashioned term which no SALI would use.
The production of f for th and v for voiced th can be either an accent or an incomplete acquisition of speech sounds or in some cases both.

derxa · 21/12/2015 12:38

*SALT

helenahandbag · 21/12/2015 12:41

To be honest i find it ridiculous that anyone might fail to understand someone because of this issue [...] Can anyone give me an example of a real sentence someone might say that would mean different things depending on how the "th" was pronounced?

Yes, this actually happened to me about ten years ago when I worked in a shop after school. A girl came in asking for a "free" top up for her phone. I told her we didn't offer "free top ups" but she kept asking for it, so I asked for clarification and she said "free... network free". I thought she was referring to the way you buy "network free" phones from Carphone Warehouse, i.e. not locked to any one network.

It took bloody ages for me to understand that she was on 3 mobile network!

wigglesrock · 21/12/2015 12:47

My youngest child says fr instead of thr (one two free) No one else in the family does, she's always done it. She's 4 now and she couldn't really hear/see the difference but we've been practicising her ths and it clicked a few days ago. We've a very strong broad rhotic accent (Belfast).

derxa · 21/12/2015 12:50

4 is very young to be worrying about an immature production of thr. It's the last consonant cluster to be acquired.

MascaraAndConverse89 · 21/12/2015 13:07

My DH says it the same as you OP. Are you my DH?? Grin

fresta · 21/12/2015 13:13

It's very common in children, but if corrected most pronounce correctly, I guess those that are corrected as children go on to be adults with the correct pronunciation and those that are not corrected continue to say it wrong forever.

RaptorInaPorkPieHat · 21/12/2015 13:18

I used to speak like this as a child, until one of my teachers told me to practise saying "This, that and the other" over and over again.

derxa · 21/12/2015 13:26

Aaaaaargh!

lozster · 21/12/2015 13:56

What about tongue tie? Can that make a difference? I have a bad one.

Anyone have problems with Al vs El as in Ally Ellie or Alice and Ellis?

PourquoiTuGachesTaVie · 21/12/2015 14:10

My 5 year old says "free" instead of "three". Ds's name also has a th sound in it which he says as f. Unfortunately so does his teacher, who he had in reception and now again for year 1 so it he's hearing it incorrectly every day. (And for some reason he listens to what his teacher says more than to what I say!)

derxa · 21/12/2015 14:23

Unfortunately so does his teacher, who he had in reception and now again for year 1 so it he's hearing it incorrectly every day. (And for some reason he listens to what his teacher says more than to what I say!) Oh dear.

Lweji · 21/12/2015 14:28

From the point of view of someone who speaks English as a second language, no, they are not pronounced the same. And they sound different.

If you can't pronounce them, then you can't. But not wanting, then that's lazy.

PixelLady42 · 21/12/2015 15:07

Are you my husband??! ( I don't think you are as we don't yet have children ;) )
I have had exactly the same argument multiple times with my husband as it annoys me every time he speaks like this. I have tried many times to enunciate the difference to him with pronunciation of three and free, using super exaggerated lip and tongue movements for simplified understanding. He still doesn't get it and pronounces them the same. I despair of any future children we have speaking like this and will do my utmost to avoid it happening!
Though, I don't regard it as a speech inpediment, just a pronunciation quirk / lack of a good example or instruction as a child. Other than this my husband has very good speech, language and pronunciation. Perhaps it is a genetic thing like inherited ear lobes, eye colours or webbed toes? :D

CheshireChat · 21/12/2015 15:31

Lweji I'm not a native speaker either and can hear the difference as well as pronounce it differently. Korean ae and e on the other hand...

CoteDAzur · 21/12/2015 17:15

"He had no idea that they were different sounds until I pointed it out"

I'm really puzzled by this. Were all these people home-schooled? I can't imagine multiple teachers over many years not noticing that a child pronounces th as f.

helenahandbag · 21/12/2015 17:20

CoteDAzur

My DP went to a decent school and did well on his exams - better than I did in most but not in English, funnily enough Grin

He's very intelligent, apparently nobody cared about his pronunciation growing up though!

derxa · 21/12/2015 17:21

I can't imagine multiple teachers over many years not noticing that a child pronounces th as f. It's such a minor thing no teacher would bother. Teachers are only recently more clued up on phonics.

fresta · 21/12/2015 17:39

It would take more than a teacher to correct a child's pronunciation, especially if it constantly being reinforced at home. Parents would have to correct as well. It also wouldn't qualify as a speech impediment and therefore wouldn't be eligible for speech therapy on the NHS.

derxa · 21/12/2015 17:47

therefore wouldn't be eligible for speech therapy on the NHS. No this would not have been eligible for a course of therapy. Services are far too stretched.

StillYummy · 21/12/2015 17:54

Sorry if I caused you offence, the reason I asked if you were is because I am and part of my problem is I can't hear the difference between the sounds. so layers and lairs for example are the same to me and both said lairs.

StillYummy · 21/12/2015 17:55

The reason I asked if op was dialectic that is, to prevent you all having to scroll back to see what the heck I was on about lol

Oswin · 21/12/2015 17:56

The , these , there and them sound totally different to three and think.
I just tried saying three and think properly and I sounded like a Disney villain.
When I try saying other with a th instead of a v my mouth feels like I'm going to dribble.
It feels all odd.

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