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

 

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For more pronunciation tips, check this video lesson on how to pronounce words when /ch/ says /k/.

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