00:00Hi there!
00:01This is the Z sound, as in the words AS, HIS and ALWAYS.
00:14The Z sound is a sound from the consonant pairs group, called the voice alveolar sibilant.
00:24This means that you create friction through clenched teeth by directing air flow with
00:29the tip of the tongue.
00:31The Z sound is made through the mouth and is voiced, which means that you vibrate your
00:37vocal cords to make the sound.
00:41It's defined by the shape of your teeth and the position of your tongue.
00:46And it's a sibilant, which is a sound made by directing a stream of air with the tongue
00:51towards the sharp edge of the teeth.
00:54To produce the sound, clench your teeth lightly together and put your tongue just behind them,
01:00restricting air flow to a narrow channel over the tongue and through the teeth.
01:06You push air through the channel and through the teeth, whilst voicing out.
01:10The Z sound is normally spelled with the letter Z, as in the words CITIZEN.
01:26But it can also be spelled with the letters SE or X, as in the words THESE, BECAUSE and EXACTLY.
01:43Here are a couple of words that begin with the Z sound.
01:50ZONE and ZOO.
01:56To be honest, there are not many more that are used very often.
02:00So here are some words with the Z sound in the middle.
02:06BUSINESS
02:08PRESIDENT
02:11RESULT
02:15BUSINESS
02:16BUSINESS
02:17BUSINESS
02:18BUSINESS
02:20And REASON
02:20Here are some words the Z sound at the end.
02:25USE
02:26THOSE
02:28SIZE
02:32LOSE
02:34SO that's it for the Z sound.
02:41We've made additional videos on each of the groups of sounds, vowels, diphthongs, single consonants and consonant pairs
02:49as well as a video explaining the overall phonetic chart.
02:53You can also click on any of the symbols behind me to see a similar video to this
02:58with lots of examples and an explanation of how to pronounce that sound.
03:11At the English Language Club we also offer live online classes via Skype or Google Hangouts.
03:27To make a booking with me or one of our other teachers visit our website.
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03:36So please do get in touch. We'd love to hear from you.
03:41Thank you.
