Hadar Shemesh breaks down the difference between /s/ and /z/: /s/ is pure airflow, /z/ adds vocal cord vibration you can feel as a buzz. She shows how to sense it and practices words like reason, thousand, and positive with the correct voiced sound.
The difference between S and Z is basically that one is voiceless, 's,' and the other one is voiced, 'z.' We're doing exactly the same thing here, but only one is just air that passes through the articulation organs, 's,' and the other one is air with the vibrations of the vocal cords. You can actually feel the vibrations here, 'z.' We're gonna practice words that are spelled with S and and pronounced with Z. 'Ree-zzzz.' Feel the vibrations, feel the tickles. 'Zzzz-en.' 'Reason.' 'Thou-zz-und.' Not 'thou-sund,' but 'thou-zz-und.' 'Posi-tive.' 'Posi-tive.' Not 'posi-tive.' 'Posi-tive.'
Read Out Loud with me! Dare to Lead by Brené Brown | Pronunciation & Vocabulary practice
