another group of semental features that are phonemic in English but not in Thai are those sounds for which Thai has no counterpart in opposition, namely the sounds /sh ch/ /th/. Although it might be expected that these sounds might present more difficulty than those sounds for which a counterpart existed, it actually is easier for Thai speakers to learn the consonant sounds in this section because, as completely new features, they are not easily confused with the already existing system of Thai features. Furthermore, the voiced/voiceless opposition is phonemic in Thai, at least in initial and medial position, and therefore, the new consonant pairs/ch sh/ and /th/ are not at all inconsistent as pairs of voiced vs voiceless affricates. Finally, the opposition between /sh ch/ and /th/ carries very little functional load in English, that is it is very difficult to get minimal pairs that have these oppositions as the distinguishing sounds. Indeed, it is impossible to find a minimal pair with the /sh ch/ opposition in initial position as /j/ never occurs initially in English. Less time should probably be spent therefore on the distinction between these pairs and other affricates or stops. For example: