How to Pronounce ‘Sh’ and ‘Ch’ Sounds
The above video is a mini accent reduction class designed to teach your how to pronounce “Sh” and “Ch” sounds. If you speak English as your second language or you’re just learning to speak English, some sounds are a little difficult to pronounce and sometimes they get mixed up and confused. This happens to be the case with the “Sh” and the “Ch” for some people.
Rather than describing the “SH” sound, to hear it, please click the following link to the relevant portion of the above accent reduction training video: the “Sh” sound. The “Sh” is the sound in words like “shout”, “shine”, and “ship”. You can continue watching the above video to hear the “Ch” sound as well or click the following link directly to the relevant portion: the “Ch” sound. The “Ch” sound is the sound in words like “chip”, “chew”, and “cheese”.
The Differences Between the “Sh” and “Ch” Sounds
Here are the differences are between the “Sh” and “Ch” sounds. There are a couple of things:
When you say the “Sh” sound, your lips are rounded and your tongue is not going to touch anywhere in particular in your mouth. Your tongue is kind of just floating and should not touch up against your teeth. Not that you would want to hold the sound very long, but you can hold it as long as you have air. It is a soft sound as if you were trying to tell someone to be quiet.
The difference when you make the “Ch” sound is it is a quick sound. You cannot hold it out. It’s a sharp percussive sound. Another big difference is the tip of your tongue is placed right behind your top teeth in that little bumpy ridge spot in your palette on the roof of you mouth. So you start there as if you were making a “t” sound, but keep your lips rounded like in the “Sh”. Unlike the “Sh” sound, just shoot the air out quickly so it’s over and done.
Sometimes if you are mispronouncing the “Sh” and “Ch” sounds or are getting them mixed around, you might be trying to say the word “ship” and it sounds like “chip” or you might try to say the word “shoe” and you’re saying “chew” or “share” and “chair”. Same thing if it is at the end of a word like in the word “wash” that’s the “Sh” or “watch”.
Exceptions Where the “Ch” is Pronounced as an “Sh”
There are some exception where the “Ch” is pronounced as an “Sh”. For example in the word “Chicago”, the city in Illinois, we don’t say “Ch”-icago we say “Sh”-icago. For the state Michigan, we pronounce it Mi-“Sh”-igan not Mi-“Ch”-igan. There are also a number of words that are actually French words that we use in speaking English that begin with a “Ch” sound, but we are going to pronounce them with an “Sh” like “chauffeur”, “chef” and “champagne”.
I hope this little accent reduction class clears up some of mysteries about the differences between the “Ch” and the “Sh” sounds. I will be releasing more online accent reduction training videos. I look forward to sharing more lessons with you.
About Derra Huxley, Speech and Language Pathologist
I am a California-licensed Speech-Language Pathologist in Los Angeles. I earned my Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in Communicative Disorders from California State University, Northridge. I work as a Preferred Trainer with LDS & Associates – Accent Modification Program, and I am a member of CORSPAN (Corporate Speech Pathology Network). I collaborate with people of all ages to improve their communication and pronunciation skills in schools, hospitals, and private practice settings. To learn more or to contact me, complete this form or reach me at 818-421-7444. I look forward to hearing from you!