Oral Skills JUST: Pronunciation Task

Pronouncing the ‘S’

The pronunciation of S at the end of plural nouns, verbs in third person and as a part of the possessive case sometimes causes problems for non-native speakers because it can be pronounced in three different ways: / ɪz /, / s / or / z /.

(Note: whenever you see letters or symbols between two slash marks (/ /), it refers to the pronunciation of that letter or sound)

The pronunciation depends on the last sound of the verb or noun which is usually a consonant. Before we learn the different ways to pronounce the final S, we must first know what voiced and voiceless consonants are as well as sibilant sounds:

Voiced Consonants vs. Voiceless Consonants

A voiced consonant (or sound) means that it uses the vocal cords and they produce a vibration or humming sound in the throat when they are said. Put your finger on your throat and then pronounce the letter L. You will notice a slight vibration in your neck / throat. That is because it is a voiced sound.

A voiceless sound is when there is no vibration in your throat and the sound comes from the mouth area. Pronounce the letter P and notice that there is no vibration.

Sibilant Sounds

Another sound which is relevant to this is the sibilant sound which is produced by forcing air out toward your teeth. Is is characterized by a hissing sound (sssss), a buzzing sound (zzzzz) or the sound teachers make when they want you to be quiet (shhhh!).

Sibilant consonants in English: /s, z, ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ/

The pronunciation of the ‘S’ at the end of words in English

The pronunciation of the final S in plural words and verbs in the third person depend on the final consonant sound before that S.

The ending is pronounced /s/ after a voiceless sound, it is pronounced /z/ after a voiced sound and is pronounced /ɪz / or /əz/ after a sibilant sound:

Voiceless: helps /ps/ -- sits /ts/ -- looks /ks/
Voiced: crabs /bz/ -- words /dz/ -- gloves /vz/,
Sibilant: buses /sɪz/, buzzes /zɪz /, bridges /dʒɪz /, wishes /shɪz /

Examples of words ending in the /ɪz/ sound:

C: races (sounds like "race-iz")
S: pauses, nurses, buses, rises
X: fixes, boxes, hoaxes
Z: amazes, freezes, prizes, quizzes
SS: kisses, misses, passes, bosses
CH: churches, sandwiches, witches, teaches
SH: dishes, wishes, pushes, crashes
GE: garages, changes, ages, judges

Examples of words ending in the /s/ sound:

P: cups stops, sleeps
T: hats, students, hits, writes
K: cooks, books, drinks, walks
F: cliffs, sniffs, beliefs, laughs, graphs, apostrophes (the -gh and -ph here are pronounced like a F)

Examples of words ending in the /z/ sound:

B: crabs, rubs
D: cards, words, rides, ends
G: rugs, bags, begs
L: deals calls, falls, hills
M: plums, dreams
N: fans, drains, runs, pens
R: wears, cures
V: gloves, wives, shelves, drives
VOWEL SOUNDS: sees, fleas

Exercise: How is the final ‘s’ pronounced in the following?

Faces	Talks	Walks	Puts
Rooms	Minds	Sees	Ali’s
Malak’s	Feels	Computers	Churches
Languages	Maps	Takes	Pads
Pens	Pencils	Boards	myths

Pronouncing the final ‘-ed’

The ending is pronounced /t/ after a voiceless sound (except /t/), it is pronounced /d/ after a voiced sound (except /d/) and is pronounced /ɪd / or /əd/ after /t/ and /d/:

voiceless sound (except /t/): walked, taped, pushed, bluffed.

voiced sound (except /d/): squeezed, bathed, moved.

after /t/ and /d/: needed, started, visited.

Exercise

Word	/t/	/d/	/ ɪd/	Irregular verb
walk
meet
ask
say
want
break
talk
drink
dance
look
smile
accept
admire
agree
allow
boil
breathed
brush

Question: How are the following words pronounced?

Alarm

Almond

Analogy

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Pronunciation Task