A short pronunciation-practice video by Hadar Shemesh focused on English words that are spelled with the letter 's' but pronounced with the voiced /z/ sound. The instructor explains the voiced (vocal-cord vibration) vs. voiceless distinction, demonstrates S↔Z alternation, and practices example words (e.g., husband, reason, cousin, thousand, resolve, positive, lose/loose, close). The speaker addresses non-native speakers (notably Spanish speakers) and invites viewers to add examples in the comments.
Chapters
Hey, everyone, it's practice time with hadar. And today we're going to practice words that are spelled with S and pronounced with Z. For example, husband. So the difference between S and Z is basically that one is voiceless and the other one is voiced. We're doing exactly the same thing here, but only one is just air that passes through the articulation organs and. And the other one is air with the vibrations of the vocal cords. You can actually feel the vibrations here. So let's start by shifting between the S and the Z. S. Z. S, Z. S. Z. Very good. Now, a lot of times people tend to read the word phonetically. Husband. Or just pronounce it without the z, because Z doesn't exist in their language in the middle of the word. Hi there, Spanish speakers. So in that case, it's important to work on activating your vocal cords for that sound. Husband. Okay, so you want to feel the vibrations. Husband. Husband. Let's look at another word. Reason. Re. Feel the vibrations. Feel the tickles. Reason. Cousin. Cousin. Cousin. Thousand. Not thousand, but thousand. You want to feel vibrations and hold out the sound while you're practicing. Thousand. A thousand reasons. A thousand reasons. My husband's. Cousin. My husband's. That's a Z as well. My husband's cousin. Resolve. Resolve. Positive. Positive. Not positive. Positive. Losing. Losing. I'm losing the battle. Lose. By the way, there is lose with the Z sound and there is the word loose with two O's. Both are spelled with an S. One is lose and one is loose. Close here as well. To close the door is pronounced with a Z sound. Close. And I'm sitting close to you. Both are spelled with an S. That's pronounced with an S. Close. Close. Close. Okay, what other words can you think of that are spelled with an S and pronounced with a Z? Write them in the comments below. Great job. And I'll see you in the.
