How To Pronounce Words When The Letter ‘s’ Says /z/

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/.