: /θ/ and /ð/ sounds

In this unit, we practice some more sounds that cause a lot of difficulty to some learners, /θ/ and /ð/. They are called ‘th’ sounds because they are both spelled in this way. If you are not sure that you are pronouncing either of the ‘th’ sounds well, make the tip of your tongue stick out just in front of your teeth as you say it.

The difference between the two is that /θ/ is unvoiced, while /ð/ is voiced. When we say a voiced sound, the vocal chords vibrate. You can feel the vibration by putting your finger on your larynx as you say the sound. A voiceles or un voiced sound has no such vibration.

Say the following:

Note that when you are saying a date, you need to use an ordinal number (sixth, tenth, etc. – where a /θ/ sound is), not a cardinal number (six, ten, etc). You are also supposed to say EITHER (1)  the month first, then ‘the’, then the ordinal number; OR (2) ‘the’, followed by the ordinal number, then ‘of’, then the month.

Read these dates aloud:

January 14th
May 19
August 15th
25th December
27 December
12 June

/θ/, /t/, and /s/

Some students confuse /θ/ and /t/; others confuse /θ/ and /s/. Say the following line by line, distinguishing each of the three words in a line carefully from the other two:

/ð/, /d/ and /z/

Some students likewise have difficulty with /ð/. Some put /d/ in its place, while others put /z/. Say the following.

Listen and repeat:

a thoughful brther

a clothing business

a length of cotton

a thorn in his thumb

a soothing breeze

worse than that

the North and the South

northern and southern

Getting it Right: Preposition Usage

1. We use at to indicate a particular point:
   I′ll meet you at the stadium

Normally this means ′at the entrance′.
We use at in this way with such nouns as (the) school, the bank, the library, etc

We use in to mean ′inside′:
I′ll meet you in the stadium

2. We use at mainly with

• Public places or buildings: at the bus stop, at the airport, at the Cameo Cinema
• Small places, and addresses: at 37 Igbobi Street, at my sisters, at Makwa
• Nouns without an article: at school/home/church/college/university
• Events: at a party/dance/meeting/wedding

But we use to when indicating a motion towards:
She′s gone to a meeting. She′s at a meeting
He′s been to a party. He was at a party

3. We usein mainly with

• large areas: in Africa, in the Sahara, in Anambra State
• large tons and cities, and areas within them: in Lagos, in Surulere, in the Sabon Gari
• outside areas: in the garden, in the park
• rooms: in the bedroom, in the bathroom
• nouns with an article: in bed, in hospital, in prison

Skill Focus: Planning an Interview

The school holiday begins soon. Many students try to forget school completely during their school holidays. That is not a bad idea. Instead, why not spend a little time in thinking  about yourself – and what you are going to do when you leave school?

Why not interview someone you know who has the kind of job that you be interested in doing, and write an article for the school magazine?
Think  carefully about whom you think would be most rewarding to interview. Some people are more co-operative than others!

You should approach the person in advance. Be very polite, and explain the purpose of the interview. Ask if he or she would be prepared to give you say half a hour interview. Arrange an appointment  for later on and prepare a list of questions you would like to ask. You will find that writing down a list of questions in advance will help you to interview the person much more effectively. Your questions might include:

• What skills and abilities do you need to do this kind of job?
• What qualifications, if any, do you need?
• What is a good way of obtaining relevant experience?
• Where might you obtain relevant training?
• What subjects do you need to do at school to get a place on the course?

A teacher at your school might be able to help with some of these questions. Your research will give you some good material for an article in the school magazine. It will also give you food for thought!

Television

Television programmes are more complicated than radio programmes. A television producer may have a brilliant idea for a programme, but he will have to convince his boss that it is worth a slot on TV.

Three people speak in the extract from the programme:

The Presenter -This is the person who introduces the programme
The Interviewer – This is the person who interviews different people to find out what their opinions are
The Interviewee – This is the person who answers the questions. In this case, his name is Mr Ali

Suppose the programme is a documentary or a current affairs programme. Even a short programme needs quite a large team including:

• A presenter
• One or more interviewers
• Camera men. (We are also beginning to get camera women too, these days!)
• Designers. Designers may have to design the studio set, as well as graphics – clear pictures or diagrams to accompany the programme.
• Editors. Using video tape recorders, an editor has to piece together a programme, and often needs to shorten it, as usually there is too much material to fit into the time allowed for the programme.

On your own

These days many people spend more time listening to the radio, or watching TV, than they do reading. Of cours TV and radio  can be very educational, and you should certainly make a point of listening to and watching good programmes.

In particular, you should listen to the good radio programmes produced by the educationa service of Radio Nigeria another private stations such as Raypower. The BBC world Service and the Voice of America also produce excellent programmes.

It is also important to listen to the news. Your teacher will ask you questions about the main points of the news from time to time. Be prepared for such exercises: they will earn class marks, as well as being of great educational value!

One last point: Please try to avoid becoming so addicted to the radio or TV that you never read! It is very important to build up and maintain the reading habit – it will  make your future studies much easier, and it is also very enjoyable.

A Newspaper Project

Why not make up your own class newspaper? You don′t have to make multiple copies – one copy will do, provided that everyone uses their best handwriting.

Here is one way to go about it:

1. Elect an Editor – the person in charge of the newspaper. This person is also in charge of the editorial column.
2. Divide into 10 groups, with four or five students in each group.
3. Each group should choose a group leader, called a sub-leader.
4. Each group chooses ONE of these areas to write about:
   – Overseas news
   – Sport news
   – Home news
   – Advertisements
   – Local news
   – ‘Small ads’
   – Editorial column (stating opinions)
   – Entertainment page
   – Feature articles on subjects of general interes
   – Cartoons, jokes, puzzles.
5. Each person in the group writed at least one contribution. Write a rough draft first! The sub-editor has to decide if it is suitable, and if and how it should be re-written. Your teacher and/or the editor will also check some of the contributions
6. Final drafts should be written on strips of paper of the same width, so that they can be pasted up into the newspaper. Coloured felt pens or crayons can be used to write the headlines.
7. Paste up the copy onto clean newsprint, if available, or large sheets of paper or cardboard.
8. Clip or stitch it all together, and hang it on the wall for all to admire!

 Exercise

1. Discuss and explain the major difference between the /θ/ sound  and the/ð/ sound.
2. On your own, practice all the right ways to use the preposition as you have been taught.
3. How can you plan for an interview?