How To Pronounce Words When The Letter ‘s’ Says /z/
Hi from Speak More Clearly! At Speak More Clearly, we train you to speak clearly and naturally.
In this video, I’m going to talk about words that are spelt with an ‘s’ but we say a /z/ instead.
In this training lesson, we’re also going to practice your listening ability to hear if a word is said with an ‘s’ or /z/ in it, so you can hear it for yourself.
One way is to say the word with an ‘s’ one time, and then say it again with the /z/ sound.
For example:
Let’s use the word LOOSEN. I’ll say it 2 ways. Which way sounds correct – number 1 or number 2?
Correct Pronunciation:
#1 Loosen /ˈlusən/ (where the ‘s’ says /s/)
I say – I ‘loohsuhn my belt
When you develop the ability to hear what’s in a word, then you can pronounce it correctly, or at least you know how to say it correctly and can give your mouth practise.
More examples:
I’ll say the word with an unvoiced /s/ first, and then a voiced /z/ second
Correct Pronunciation:
#2 husband /ˈhʌzbənd/ (the /s/ says /z/)
say ‘huzbuhnd
Correct Pronunciation:
#2 visible /ˈvɪz.ə.bəl/ (the /s/ says /z/)
say ‘vizuhbuhl
Correct Pronunciation:
#1 consist /kənˈsɪst/ (the /s/ says /s/)
say ‘kuhn-sist
Correct Pronunciation:
#2 presentation /ˌprez.ənˈteɪ.ʃən/ (the /s/ says /z/)
say ‘prez-uhn-tey-shuhn
Correct Pronunciation:
#1 diverse /daɪˈvɜːs/ (the /s/ says /s/)
say ‘dih-vurs
Correct Pronunciation:
#2 accusation /ˌæk.jəˈzeɪ.ʃən/ (the /s/ says /z/)
say ‘ak-yoo-zey-shuhn
Correct Pronunciation:
#2 losing /luːz.ɪŋ/ (the /s/ says /z/)
say loo-zing
Correct Pronunciation:
#1 person /ˈpɜː.sən/ (the /s/ says /s/)
say ‘pur-suhn
Correct Pronunciation:
#2 propose /prəˈpəʊz/ (the /s/ says /z/)
say ‘pruh-pohz
Correct Pronunciation:
#2 design /dɪˈzaɪn/ (the /s/ says /z/)
say ‘dih-zahyn
Correct Pronunciation:
#2 position /pəˈzɪʃ.ən/ (the /s/ says /z/)
say ‘puh-zish-uhn
Correct Pronunciation:
#2 rose /roʊz/ (the /s/ says /z/)
say ‘rohz
By the way, the rose that smells beautiful and ‘the spaceship rose up’ are said and spelt the same way
Correct Pronunciation:
#2 was /wɒz/ (the /s/ says /z/)
say ‘wuhz
Correct Pronunciation:
#1 choice /tʃɔɪs/ (the s says /s/)
say ‘chois
Here the rule is /c/ always says the unvoiced /s/ when the /c/ is followed by an e, i or y. So it’s not ‘choiz, but ‘chois
Correct Pronunciation:
#2 as – like in ‘as well as’ /æz/ (the /s/ says /z/)
say ‘az
If you found this video helpful, please share it with someone who would benefit from it 🙂
For more pronunciation tips, check this video lesson on how to pronounce words when /ch/ says /k/.
