The sounds /ʃ/ and /ʒ/
The /ʃ/ sound in English is most often represented by the letters 'sh'. The /ʒ/ sound occurs less frequently in speech. It is pronounced almost the same as /ʃ/ except it is voiced.
Remember, consonants in any language are the result of the brief stoppage or restriction of airflow in speech at different 'points of articulation'. While one is speaking, the vocal chords are either vibrated (voiced), or not (voiceless).
Fricatives:
These are produced with a restriction, but not a complete stoppage, of airflow.
/ʃ/
Linguists call the /ʃ/ sound a 'voiceless post-alveolar fricative'. The 'post-alveolar' point of articulation is just behind the 'alveolar', the point for /s/ and /z/. Try pronouncing the /s/ sound for an extended period and then move your tongue slightly backward away from your alveolar ridge. You will notice that the sound drops slightly in pitch and has a more sonorous or noisy quality to it.
Examples:
word initial:
she
shore
shell
word internal:
fashion
ashen
crushing
word final:
crash
wish
/ʒ/
The /ʒ/ sound is a 'voiced post-alveolar fricative'. This time, try pronouncing the /z/ sound for an extended period and then move your tongue slightly backward away from your alveolar ridge. You will notice that the sound drops slightly in pitch and has a more sonorous or noisy quality to it.
The /ʒ/ sound occurs less frequently and, for the most part, is not critical to conveying the meaning of a word (as the difference between, for example, /t/ vs. /d/ might be in the words 'time' and 'dime'). Nevertheless it is a variation pronounced by most U.S. English speakers in the middle of some words, like:
measure
azure
treasure
The sounds /tʃ/ and /dʒ/
The /tʃ/ sound in English is most often represented by the letters 'ch', while /dʒ/ commonly appears as 'j', 'g', or the letters 'dg'.
Keep in mind as you learn English pronunciation that English spelling is rather unpredictable with a multitude of exceptions and variations. The rules sometimes seem to lack a predictable pattern. Fortunately there are only a limited number of 'phonemes', or sounds. That's why these pronunciation lessons focus on the phonemes and try to give only non-exceptional spelling examples. This should make it easier for you to master the individual sounds as you progress and start to encounter variations and exceptions. Individual phonemes are represented by their International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) symbol between forward slashes: / /.
Remember, consonants in any language are the result of the brief stoppage or restriction of airflow in speech at different 'points of articulation'. While one is speaking, the vocal chords are either vibrated (voiced), or not (voiceless).
Affricates:
/tʃ/ and /dʒ/ are the kinds of sounds that linguists call 'affricates'. Their pronunciation is very similar to that of the 'fricatives', particularly /ʃ/ and /ʒ/, but it is more dynamic. Unlike the fricatives, affricates are not uniform throughout their pronunciation. They begin with a complete stoppage of airflow, followed by releasing, but still restricting airflow.
/tʃ/
The /tʃ/ sound is very close to the /ʃ/ sound, with the same post-alveolar point of articulation and voiceless quality, but it begins with a complete stoppage of airflow at the post-alveolar point of articulation. Looking at its IPA symbol might suggest that the stoppage is similar to the /t/ sound, but /tʃ/ is pronounced more at the post-alveolar point of articulation. Practice by pronouncing the /ʃ/ sound for an extended period of time while stopping and releasing airflow.
Examples:
word initial:
chip
chart
chop
check
word final:
catch
rich
/dʒ/
The /dʒ/ sound is analogous to /tʃ/ except it is voiced. Here again, the stoppage is made entirely at the post-alveolar point of articulation. Practice by pronouncing the /ʒ/ sound for an extended period of time while stopping and releasing airflow.
Examples:
word initial:
jury
job
jewelry
Janet
word final:
edge
judge
Voiceless and Voiced Consonant Pairs
The /ʃ/ sound in English is most often represented by the letters 'sh'. The /ʒ/ sound occurs less frequently in speech. It is pronounced almost the same as /ʃ/ except it is voiced.
Remember, consonants in any language are the result of the brief stoppage or restriction of airflow in speech at different 'points of articulation'. While one is speaking, the vocal chords are either vibrated (voiced), or not (voiceless).
Fricatives:
These are produced with a restriction, but not a complete stoppage, of airflow.
/ʃ/
Linguists call the /ʃ/ sound a 'voiceless post-alveolar fricative'. The 'post-alveolar' point of articulation is just behind the 'alveolar', the point for /s/ and /z/. Try pronouncing the /s/ sound for an extended period and then move your tongue slightly backward away from your alveolar ridge. You will notice that the sound drops slightly in pitch and has a more sonorous or noisy quality to it.
Examples:
word initial:
she
shore
shell
word internal:
fashion
ashen
crushing
word final:
crash
wish
/ʒ/
The /ʒ/ sound is a 'voiced post-alveolar fricative'. This time, try pronouncing the /z/ sound for an extended period and then move your tongue slightly backward away from your alveolar ridge. You will notice that the sound drops slightly in pitch and has a more sonorous or noisy quality to it.
The /ʒ/ sound occurs less frequently and, for the most part, is not critical to conveying the meaning of a word (as the difference between, for example, /t/ vs. /d/ might be in the words 'time' and 'dime'). Nevertheless it is a variation pronounced by most U.S. English speakers in the middle of some words, like:
measure
azure
treasure
The sounds /tʃ/ and /dʒ/
The /tʃ/ sound in English is most often represented by the letters 'ch', while /dʒ/ commonly appears as 'j', 'g', or the letters 'dg'.
Keep in mind as you learn English pronunciation that English spelling is rather unpredictable with a multitude of exceptions and variations. The rules sometimes seem to lack a predictable pattern. Fortunately there are only a limited number of 'phonemes', or sounds. That's why these pronunciation lessons focus on the phonemes and try to give only non-exceptional spelling examples. This should make it easier for you to master the individual sounds as you progress and start to encounter variations and exceptions. Individual phonemes are represented by their International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) symbol between forward slashes: / /.
Remember, consonants in any language are the result of the brief stoppage or restriction of airflow in speech at different 'points of articulation'. While one is speaking, the vocal chords are either vibrated (voiced), or not (voiceless).
Affricates:
/tʃ/ and /dʒ/ are the kinds of sounds that linguists call 'affricates'. Their pronunciation is very similar to that of the 'fricatives', particularly /ʃ/ and /ʒ/, but it is more dynamic. Unlike the fricatives, affricates are not uniform throughout their pronunciation. They begin with a complete stoppage of airflow, followed by releasing, but still restricting airflow.
/tʃ/
The /tʃ/ sound is very close to the /ʃ/ sound, with the same post-alveolar point of articulation and voiceless quality, but it begins with a complete stoppage of airflow at the post-alveolar point of articulation. Looking at its IPA symbol might suggest that the stoppage is similar to the /t/ sound, but /tʃ/ is pronounced more at the post-alveolar point of articulation. Practice by pronouncing the /ʃ/ sound for an extended period of time while stopping and releasing airflow.
Examples:
word initial:
chip
chart
chop
check
word final:
catch
rich
/dʒ/
The /dʒ/ sound is analogous to /tʃ/ except it is voiced. Here again, the stoppage is made entirely at the post-alveolar point of articulation. Practice by pronouncing the /ʒ/ sound for an extended period of time while stopping and releasing airflow.
Examples:
word initial:
jury
job
jewelry
Janet
word final:
edge
judge
Voiceless and Voiced Consonant Pairs
| Voiceless (vocal cords do not vibrate) | Voiced (vocal cords vibrate) | |||||
| /ʃ/ | pressure | /ʒ/ | pleasure | |||
| wish | massage | |||||
| /tʃ/ | choke | /ʤ/ | joke | |||
| rich | ridge | |||||
2 comments:
Thanks.This info helps me a lot...
good
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