Sunday, November 21, 2010

Pronunciation Pairs: /s/ and /z/


Who has trouble with the /s/ sound?

ESL learners who have trouble with the /s/ sound may speak Cambodian, Chinese, German, Japanese, Korean or Vietnamese.

How do I make the /s/ sound?
1. The teeth are lightly closed. The lips are in the smiling position.

2. Start by making the 't' sound. Place the tip of your tongue on the skin above your front teeth. Say, "Two, two, two, two, two."

3. Now move your tongue off the skin, but keep the tongue behind the top teeth. Say, "So, so, so, so, so." This is a lazy 't'.

4. Your breath should flow over the tip of your tongue. The sides of your tongue should not touch the sides of your teeth because this will change the air flow.
How do you make the /z/ sound?

's' and 'z' are pronunciation pairs. Both have the same mouth position. 's' uses only your breath. 'z' uses your vocal chords in your neck. Try this pair to hear the difference.

Say, "bus buzz, bus buzz, bus buzz, bus buzz, bus buzz"

Practice the pronunciation pairs with the video.




Having problems? Common errors.

** "th" for "s" - Your tongue is outside the mouth. Keep the tongue behind your teeth.

To correct, try this.

1. Practise - Say,"EE, EE, EE, EE-S, EE-S"
2. Say, "Th, Th, Th" - Move your tongue back gradually and close teeth for "S--------S"
3. Practice - Say, "two soo, two soo, two soo, two soo, two soo


** "sh" for "s" - Breath does not pass over the tip of the tongue, but over the side of the tongue.
The tongue may be touching the teeth or the tongue may be behind the lower teeth.

To correct, try this.

Practise - Say, "Th-ssss, Th-ssss, Th-ssss, EE-s, EE-s, Sh-----a-. Change position of the lips.