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I checked the pronunciation of th in thread and python in Google Translate. The sound of the th in thread is similar to t, but in python it instead sounds like s.

However, in dictionaries (e.g. Longman), both have phonetics of /θ/. What is the difference? Why is th pronounced differently in thread and python?

tchrist
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    Longman's pronunciation guide is accurate for the pronunciation of both 'thread' and 'python' in standard British English and American English. Where/from whom did you hear the 'th' being replaced by 't'/'s'? My guess is that whoever it is is not a native speaker of English. Or are these pronunciations given only by Google Translate? – Erik Kowal Dec 02 '14 at 05:46
  • @ErikKowal. As I mentioned, I checked Google translate text-to-speech and it was heard like (not exactly) 's' in Python, but it was very different from Thread. – I left StackExchange Dec 02 '14 at 05:49
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    It would be an unusual pronunciation to say Pyson rather than Python. Also, native speakers know and detect the difference between 'thread' and 'tread.' So it is difficult to know what you are hearing. – pazzo Dec 02 '14 at 05:57
  • @CarSmack please check translate.google.com – I left StackExchange Dec 02 '14 at 05:59
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    This question appears to be off-topic because it is about inaccuracy in Google Translate text-to-speech. – Roaring Fish Dec 02 '14 at 06:06
  • In the Central US, I've never heard anyone pronounce "thread" with a "t" sound, nor "Python" with an "S" sound. The th dyad is pronounced nearly identically in both words. – brasshat Dec 02 '14 at 06:44
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    @brasshat Well, neither may sound like an 's' or a 't', but the 'th' of Python would, in Britain at any rate, sound differently to the way it does in 'thread'. The reason for that is that the British place the emphasis on the first syllable - PYthon, whilst Americans may give it to the second -pyTHON. – WS2 Dec 02 '14 at 08:30
  • Maybe, but while the difference in accent would affect the sound of the word, I'm not convinced the difference in accent would affect the pronunciation of the "th" dyad. – brasshat Dec 02 '14 at 09:06
  • @WS2 Goodness no: nobody but nobody stresses the second syllababble of python. You’ve been hoodwinked. However, North Americans do not reduce the second syllable’s vowel to a schwa; do you? – tchrist Dec 02 '14 at 12:19
  • @tchrist I'm not sure what a 'schwa' is, but you may be right that an American would show more respect to the second syllable than we would when we say something like PY-thn – WS2 Dec 03 '14 at 13:15
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    @WS2 By a schwa, I mean the fully reduced central vowel common in unstressed English syllables, such as in the second syllable of lemon. In North America, for whatever the reason (I have no idea why, actually), the second syllable of python does not reduce the way it does in lemon. However, the stress falls on the first syllable in both cases. I believe you are saying that in the UK, python's second syllable is reduced the way it is in lemon, so that you notice when a North American still says more of an o vowel (probably one of [ɒ, ɔ, ɑ]) there, since you do not. – tchrist Dec 03 '14 at 15:05
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    @tchrist If I might say so, without sounding patronising, that is extraordinarily well put. Not being a professional in this field, such a thing had never occurred to me before. – WS2 Dec 03 '14 at 17:16
  • @tchrist Is the incidence of a schwa being present related to the frequency of a word's use, in your opinion? 'Lemon' is clearly a more everyday word than 'python' - unless you are a zoo-keeper or snake salesman. – WS2 Dec 04 '14 at 21:59
  • @WS2 Given that pythons are no more frequent in North America than in Britain (the escapees in Florida hardly count :), I think it’s more likely to be related to this question: in North America, words like neuron, photon, electron, proton, neutron, argon, boron, moron, ion, neutron, radon, interferon, hard-on and many others like those all have an unreduced vowel in their last syllable. – tchrist Dec 05 '14 at 00:27
  • Interesting stuff. (It also explained to be that the Higgs boson, has nothing to do with a boatswain, pronounced bo'sun. I had been wondering about that.) – WS2 Dec 05 '14 at 01:19
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    @tchrist All those have unreduced vowels in BrE as well. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of any other examples like python that has a reduced vowel in BrE, but not in AmE. (I would probably reduce it in python in AmE as well, but the unreduced vowel doesn’t jar in my head in AmE, while it does in BrE.) – Janus Bahs Jacquet Dec 05 '14 at 01:26
  • @JanusBahsJacquet For me, /ˈpaɪθɔnz/ are wyrmy reptiles but /ˈpaɪθənz/ are corny primates. :) – tchrist Dec 05 '14 at 02:10
  • @tchrist And Greek dragons are /ˈpaɪθoʊnz/, I guess? ;-þ – Janus Bahs Jacquet Dec 05 '14 at 02:12
  • So, which is Monty Python? – Hot Licks Dec 05 '14 at 04:53
  • @HotLicks Quaerendo invenietis. – tchrist Dec 05 '14 at 05:06

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It's a slurring of the following sounds. In your "similar" examples try replacing them. Thread sounds pretty distinct from tread. Python is not the same a pyson.

Going over it in my head and articulating it out I'm realizing Thread is tongue starting from the top of the teeth, Python is the tongue coming back inwards.

atxdba
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  • I meant why is th differently pronounced in Thread and Python – I left StackExchange Dec 02 '14 at 05:54
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    It's a combination of both paragraphs. Mostly the second I believe. Say Thread and feel your tongue starting from the roof of your mouth coming down. When you start "Py --" your mouth is open and your tongue is at the bottom of your mouth coming upwards as you complete the word. – atxdba Dec 02 '14 at 05:56
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    @yaa110 The th is *not* pronounced differently in thread and python: you are either imagining it or listening to non-native speakers mangling the word. The phoneme there is /θ/ in both instances, which is a comparatively rare one amongst the worlds’ languages, and so you might not be correctly hearing it. – tchrist Dec 05 '14 at 00:12