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Hello. In this video we are going to speak about difficult sound З.

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The production of the sound З is a common speech sound error.

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Even those whose own one is English may have difficulties pronouncing the sound correctly

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at some stages of their speech and language development

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by replacing the sound with the interdental voiced consonant З.

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But today let's focus on what makes it so hard to pronounce this sound correctly

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to those whose own one is not English and especially for the Spanish learners of English.

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Why is it so hard to pronounce this sound correctly for them?

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For one, it doesn't exist in the Spanish language.

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For two, it is normally replaced by the interdental voiceless З sound

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as the Spanish lataceta is always pronounced as th sound.

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But we've got good news for you.

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It may exist in some Spanish words when it appears next to voiced consonants like in the word mizmo.

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Do you hear that? Mizmo.

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To pronounce this sound correctly, we need to know how to articulate it properly in the mouth.

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Sound З belongs to the circle alveolar sibilants.

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The alveolar consonants are the ones that are made by raising the tip of the tongue

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or the blade of the tongue towards the alveolar ridge.

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The alveolar ridge is this bumpy area just right behind the upper teeth.

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Can you feel it? It's right there.

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Sibilants are very intense sounds made by directing an air stream with the tongue towards the teeth.

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Now, let's pronounce this sound together by placing the back sides of the tongue behind the upper teeth,

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touching slightly the bumpy area and the molar teeth.

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Now, let's close our teeth and let's turn on the air and let it go straight forward.

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Ready?

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Once again.

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Well done! I think you got it.

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Now, let's see how this sound is graphically represented in the English language.

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First of all, it can be written with letter Z in the words as zebra, zebra, zipper, maze, blizzard, buzz.

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As you have noticed, the last two words are spelled with double letter Z.

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Does it mean that we have to pronounce this sound longer?

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Not at all. The pronunciation of this consonant is the same as in other words.

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Now, we write it with letter S, but we have to know why we pronounce it like Z sound.

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When letter S is after a vowel, it is pronounced as Z sound, as in the word his.

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When it is between two vowels, it is also pronounced as Z sound, as in the words clothes, laser, daisy.

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When the letter S is placed after a voiced consonant, we also pronounce it as Z sound, like in the words brings, clouds.

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We also write letter X and we pronounce it as Z sound if letter X is followed by a vowel at the beginning of a word, like in the words xylophone, xenophone, xenolith.

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And we sometimes write double S, but we still pronounce double S as Z sound, in the words as scissors, possess, desert, dissolve.

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But this is an exception.

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And don't worry, the list of these words is not very long.

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These words can be easily remembered.

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I hope this video has been helpful. Thank you for watching.