The video lesson shows how to pronounce the sound correctly /s/ on the example of words where this sound occurs at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of words.

It also compares two similar consonants: / s/ and /z/ .

Examples of words with transcription:

soon— / su:n / - soon

mister— / ‘mistə / - sir, mister

hiss— / his / - hiss, whistle

stop— / si:s / - stop

Examples for comparing sounds / s/ and /z/ :

Sound /s/	Sound /z/
hiss— / his / - hiss, whistle	his— / hiz / - his, his
course— / kɔ:s / - course, route	cause— / kɔ:z / - reason, basis
place — / Pleis / - place, put	plays — / Pleiz / - play (3rd person ch. to play)
gross — / grəus / - rough, big	grows — / gruz / - grow (3rd person ch. to grow)

English Joke

A woman got on a bus holding a baby.
The bus driver said, "That's the ugliest baby I've ever seen."
In a huff, the woman slammed her fare into the fare box and took an aisle seat near the rear of the bus.
The man seated next to her sensed that she was agitated and asked her what was wrong.
"The bus driver insulted me," she fumed.
The man sympathized and said, "Why, he's a public servant and shouldn't say things to insult passengers."
"You're right," she said. "I think I'll go back up there and give him a piece of my mind."
"That's a good idea," the man said. "Here, let me hold your monkey."

Noisy voiceless consonant. Sounds like Russian [With] in the word FROM Am, but differs in articulation, in addition, the English sound is stronger and longer.

1 When speaking [s] the tip of the tongue is raised to the alveoli. A strong whistling sound is produced by a jet of air passing through a narrow gap between the tip of the tongue and the alveoli. The position of the lips depends on the neighboring sounds.

And when pronouncing the Russian sound [With] the tip of the tongue is lowered, a gap for air is formed between the front of the tongue and the teeth. The resulting sound is weaker and shorter than English [s].

2 Sound [s] is always long, especially in the final position, and the length of the vowel before it is reduced. Unlike the Russian sound, it does not soften before front-lingual vowels :seat[ S Jt] seat, sit [ S It] sit, say [ S EI] talk, step [ S Tep] step, desk desk, dress dress, lips lips.

I'm absolutely certain of success. - I am absolutely sure of success.

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related topics:

1. Slotted consonants [S] Voiceless consonant. It differs from the Russian hard sound [w] in softness. Look like soft sound in the word shili, if you pronounce it exactly as it is written, without ... ...
2. Slotted consonants [h] Voiceless consonant. There is no such sound in Russian. It is a light breath. 1 The sound [h] occurs only before vowels. The standard position of the tongue is ... ...
3. Slotted consonants [T] Interdental noisy dull sound. There is no analogue of this sound in Russian. This sound will be similar to the lisping [s] in the word Suk, if you pronounce it with a tip ... ...
4. Slit consonants [z] Noisy voiced consonant. Similar to the Russian sound [z] in the words HALL, Building, but weaker and shorter. 1 The sound [z] is articulated in the same way as ... ...
5. Short vowels [I] short sound similar to Russian [and] In the words to sew, Igra. It is pronounced very briefly, abruptly and easily, without tension. 1 When pronouncing the sound [I], the tip of the tongue is slightly ... ...
6. Fricative consonants [D] Interdental voiced consonant. There is no analogue of this sound in Russian. This sound will be similar to the lisping [z] in the word ZONE, if you pronounce it with a tip ... ...
7. Short vowels [x] Semi-long (the longest of the short vowels), tense open sound. There is no such sound in Russian. As an approximate analogue, you can take the Russian sound [e] in ... ...
8. Stopping consonants [t] Alveolar noisy (explosive) dull sound, similar to the Russian hard sound [t] in the words Takhta, shTuka. 1 The essential difference is that when pronouncing Russian [t]... ...
9. Slit consonants [l] Alveolar lateral sonant. It looks like the Russian sound [l] in the word lightning. 1 When pronouncing the sound [l], the tip of the tongue is pressed against the alveoli (and not against the teeth, like ... ...
10. Stop consonant sounds [N] Back lingual stop nasal sonant. There is no analogue of this sound in Russian. The main thing is that when pronouncing this sound, unlike the above [n], the tip of the tongue does not ... ...

Consonant sound [h]- occurs only before a vowel and is a light, barely audible exhalation. It is formed without the participation of the tongue, so you need to ensure that the back of the tongue does not rise close to the soft palate.

Consonant resembles the Russian sound [sh] in the word "sew". The English sound is softer than the Russian [w]. This softness is created due to the fact that the tip of the tongue is at the alveoli, and the front of the tongue is raised. However, the sound should not be as soft as Russian sch.

Consonant differs from the previous one only in sonority, reminiscent of the Russian sound [g] in the word “sorry”. English sound is softer than Russian [zh].

Consonant. There is no such sound in Russian. The sound is muffled. When pronouncing it, you need to slightly open your mouth and slightly push your tongue between your teeth. In this case, the tongue should lightly touch the lower teeth, and a gap remains between the upper teeth and the tongue. If you blow air into this gap, you get a deaf interdental sound. The tip of the tongue should not protrude much beyond the upper teeth or be pressed too tightly against the teeth, otherwise it will turn out [t]. The lower lip does not touch the upper teeth, otherwise it will turn out [f].

Basic shade of the English phoneme /s/- anterior lingual alveolar-apical * fricative noisy strong long deaf consonant.

Sound /s/

Si: *
si:l
zi:l
si:d
si:t
sit
ni:z **
ni:s ***

* / s / - always long
** / z / - do not pull
*** / s / - pull

When pronouncing / s /, the tip of the tongue is raised and touches the alveoli, the teeth are brought together and the air stream, breaking through the gap between the tip of the tongue and the alveoli, makes a strong whistling noise.

In terms of overall sound, the English sound /s/ is a bit similar to Russian /s/. But when pronouncing a Russian sound, the tip of the tongue is lowered (dorsal position), and a gap is formed between the front of the tongue and the teeth. The English sound /s/ is pronounced more tensely, vigorously and for a long time than the Russian sound /s/, especially at the end of a word.

Before fortis ** deaf / s / it is necessary to shorten the length of the vowel.

suːn	soon	soon
"mɪstə(r)	mister	mister, mister
hɪs	hiss	1) hiss; whistling 2) hiss; whistle
siːs	stop	1) break, stop; termination 2) stop, stop, suspend
hɪz	his	his
kɔːs	course	1) course, direction 2) course (lectures, training, treatment, etc.)
kɔːz	cause	reason, basis
Pleɪs	place	place
plez	plays	plays
gross	grəʊs	1) total, all in all 2) rude, vulgar 3) to give or receive (some) gross income, gross profit
grəʊz	grows	grows, develops, transforms

/s/


I'll sing you a song

I "ll s ing you a s ong.
- Yes, do sing a s ong. But don't sing a s ad s ong.
- Mos t of my songs are s ad.
- Well, sing one that's not.
- I'll sing S imple Simon.

That house is too expensive

That house is too expensive. Let's s ee what els e you've got on your lis t.
- This is a s mall gues t hous e. Clos e to the s ea…
- Exc ellent accommodation cons is ting of… Jus t what you s aid you wanted. And the
pric e is low, of cours e.
- mm. Nick e.
- You could s ee it for yours elf next S aturday or S unday.
- But firs t, could you perhaps s ay what the low pric e is?

* - According to the style of the language, the anterior lingual consonants are divided into apical, which are articulated when the tip of the tongue closes with the upper teeth and alveoli, as in the case of c and cacuminal [r], during the articulation of which the tip of the tongue is moved back from the alveoli, and the middle part of the tongue is lowered so that a hollow (kakumina) is formed on the front of the tongue.

** - The strength of the flow of exhaled air and the degree of muscular tension when pronouncing voiceless consonants is higher than when pronouncing vowels. Therefore, when describing them, the term fortis is used from the Latin fortis(strong). When pronouncing voiced consonants, the strength of muscular tension is lower, therefore, the terms are used in relation to them: lazy, soft, weak from lat. lenis.