Alveolar fricatives /s/ and /z/

/s/ and /z/ are called alveolar fricatives since they are produced near the alveolar ridge. /s/ is unvoiced and is the counterpart to the voiced /z/. To pronounce /s/ and /z/, the tip of the tongue approaches the alveolar ridge but doesn't quite touch it. The opening is wide enough for airflow to continue, but narrow enough for the escaping air to become turbulent, hence the hissing sound.

/s/, /z/ minimal pairs

fleece fleas 

peace P's 

ace A's 

force fours 

Pence pens 

advice advise 

fussy fuzzy 

pierce peers 

apiece appease 

gross grows 

place plays 

arse R's 

Guinness guineas 

precedent president 

ass as 

hearse hers 

purse purrs 

basis basses 

hence hens 

race raise 

Bruce brews 

hiss his 

rice rise 

bus buzz 

case K's 

ice eyes 

sap zap 

cease seize 

Joyce joys 

sauce saws 

lace lays 

countess counties

lice lies 

sink zinc 

decease disease 

loose lose 

sip zip 

device devise 

Miss Ms 

sown zone 

dice dies 

spice spies 

tense tens 

else L's

muscle muzzle 

trace trays 

once ones 

treatise treaties 

face phase 

pace pays 

false falls 

These are minimal pair sentences with /s/ and /z/.

We saw the place. /s/

We saw the plays. /z/

They made peace. /s/

They made peas. /z/

The price was $100. /s/

The prize was $100. /z/

Did you see the racer? /s/

Did you see the razor? /z/

He lost the race. /s/

He lost the raise. /z/

/s/ and /z/ as grammar particle sounds 

/s/ and /z/ can function as grammar particle sounds. That is, we need to add the extra /s/ or /z/ sound at the end of words for the plural, like ‘books’ or ‘beds’, and for the third person simple present verb tense like ‘she eats’ and ‘he reads.’ In the section on voicing, we learned how to pronounce the grammar particle sounds.

/s/, /θ/ minimal pairs

Now we compare /s/ and /z/ with similar sounding /θ/ and /ð/. The sounds /s/ and /θ/ can sound similar since both are fricatives and unvoiced. But /s/ is an alveolar consonant, and /θ/ is an interdental consonant. 

mouse mouth

sing thing

face faith

force fourth

sick thick

sink think

sought thought

tense tenth

mass math

miss myth

pass path

saw thaw

seam theme

some thumb

song thong

use youth

worse worth

gross growth

race wraith

seem theme

sigh thigh

sin thin

sum thumb

truce truth

moss moth

piss pith

purse Perth

sank thank

suds thuds

sump thump

symbol thimble

/ð/, /z/ minimal pairs

The sounds /ð/ and /z/ are fricatives and voiced. They differ in placement. One is interdental and the other is alveolar. These are minimal pairs:

then Zen

clothe close

clothing closing

sheathe she's

teethe Ts

teething teasing

bathe bays

breathe breeze

lithe lies

loathe lows

scythe size

seethe Cs

seethe seas

lathe laze

soothe sues

tithe ties

/s/, /z/, /θ/, and /ð/ sentences

These are sentences with /s/, /z/, /θ/, and /ð/ 

There are six thick thistle sticks. 

Is this your sister's sixth birthday? 

Elizabeth's birthday is on the third Thursday of this month.

This is the sixth zebra snoozing thoroughly.

Nothing is worth thousands of deaths.