The /s/ and /z/ Sounds

Mastering the American Accent » The /s/ and /z/ Sounds

The /s/ and /z/ Sounds

A bird does^/z/n’t s^/s/ing becaus^/z/e it has^/z/ an ans^/s/wer, it s^/s/ings^/z/ becaus^/z/e it has^/z/ a s^/s/ong
Maya Angelou

The letter s is sometimes pronounced as a /z/ sound and sometimes as a /s/ sound. When s follows a consonant, there are rules for pronunciation, but when it follows a vowel there are no rules—so it’s best to just memorize the exceptions. Studying the four basic rules below will also be helpful to you.

Warning: Common Mistake

The letter z is never pronounced as an /s/ sound. If your native language is Spanish, compare the way Americans pronounce common Spanish last names (such as “Gomez” or “Alvarez”) with the way you pronounce them in Spanish.

Rule 1
When an s follows a voiceless consonant, it is pronounced as /s/.
books, eats, stops, cats, makes, helps, likes, surfs

Rule 2
When an s is followed by a voiced consonant or a vowel, it is pronounced as /z/.
eggs, comes, beds, boys, lives, loans, cars, feels

Rule 3
Double s is pronounced as /s/.
boss, massive, less, lesson, success, essay
exceptions: possession, scissors, dessert (ss sounds like /z/)

Rule 4
An extra syllable is added to words that end with certain consonant sounds followed by s.
These include:

sound:	consonant:	examples:
/ʤ/	g	manages, changes
/ʃ/	sh	washes, dishes
/ʧ/	ch	churches, matches
/s/	s, ss, c	bosses, faces
/ks/	x	boxes, faxes

Study Tip

Memorize these very common words that have a final s. The s is pronounced as /z/ and not as /s/.

was, is, as, his, hers, has, these, those, whose, goes, does, always, because

Warning: Common Mistake

Note that the s in the prefix dis– is pronounced as /s/ and not as /z/.

disagree, disorder, disobey, disapprove, disappear, disability

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