hi guys i am a non native english speaker and i was wondering why some people pronounce theo with a hard t like in [name_m]Theory[/name_m] instead of the th sound? Is it wright or wrong to pronounce the baby name with a hard t? i’ve also noticed that sometimes english people pronounce my name theodore with a hard T. Thanks in advance for the answers, T.:D:confused:
Hmmm. In the US [name_u]Theo[/name_u] would be pronounced with the same sound as theory (which does not use a hard T like in [name_u]Teddy[/name_u] or Tear). If you want it pronounced without the “th” sound I would say spell it “[name_m]Teo[/name_m].” I would never pronounce [name_m]Theodore[/name_m] with a hard T either…
You got me. I’ve only ever heard [name_u]Theo[/name_u] with the th beginning. [name_m]Teo[/name_m] I would pronounce tay-o, as in [name_m]Mateo[/name_m]. I’ve never heard tee-o by native English speakers.
thanks, i thought the same. as an european however its kind of tricky for me to pronounce the th sound i do it but the trickier part is when i try to shout the name out lout or repeat it several times quickly, the th is like how to put it fading away? is that normal? I mean you pronounce the th sound when you place the tip of your tongue between your teeth, correct? or is it different fro native speakers?
In [name_m]French[/name_m] Théodore and Théo are both pronounced with a hard t. In Icelandic also Theodór has a hard t. And [name_m]German[/name_m] [name_m]Theodor[/name_m]. These are the languages I think of off the top of my head, but I am sure there are others. In English it is always with the ‘th’ sound, but I suppose some people you meet have been influenced by other languages or they are assuming that because you are ‘European’ that is the correct way to say your name, so they are deliberately not using the English version.
Where are you from? Are you saying that your name should have a ‘th’ sound but you can’t really say ‘th’? That is a bit confusing to me…
Sorry, double post.
hi thank you for your answer and appologies for the confusion caused. no , i was talking about my son’s name [name_u]Theo[/name_u] and i’m worried that im probably not pronouncing the th sound like a native should.
Not sure where you live, but in the U.S., th is always pronounced just as it’s spelled. I can’t think of any words where a th would be pronounced like a T.
Th is where you put your tongue between your teeth.
There are, however, two different th sounds- voiced and unvoiced. Voiced th sounds are in words like these, bathe, and breathe. Unvoiced th sounds are in the words thing, three, and breath. [name_u]Theo[/name_u] (and [name_m]Theodore[/name_m]) both have an unvoiced th sound in them.
[name_f]Hope[/name_f] that helps 