Practice the alveolar fricative consonants, s vs z
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| This is the s sound, and this is the z sound. By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to tell them apart, plus you'll be practicing them and on your way to perfect pronunciation! |
| I'm Doria, and this is French Pronunciation Through Minimal Pairs. |
| First is s. This is the s sound in sur, ciel, ça, and other words. |
| z is the z sound in zéro, onze, deuxième and other words. |
| s and z are called "fricatives" because they are pronounced by forcing air through a narrow channel in the mouth, causing friction as the air passes through it. |
| Like in English, the French s is unvoiced but tends to be slightly crisper and more forward in the mouth. To make the French s sound, place the tip of your tongue close to your upper front teeth without touching them. Let the air flow smoothly over the tongue without engaging your vocal cords, to produce a crisp, unvoiced sound. |
| s |
| [3 sec pause] |
| s (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| s |
| s |
| [3 sec pause] |
| s (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| s |
| The French z is voiced, just like in English, but the vocal cords vibrate more consistently in French z than in the English z. To make the French z sound, place the tip of your tongue close to your upper front teeth without touching them. Let the air flow over your tongue while engaging your vocal cords to produce a voiced, buzzing sound. |
| z |
| [3 sec pause] |
| z (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| z |
| z |
| [3 sec pause] |
| z (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| z |
| The difference between these two sounds is about whether your vocal folds vibrate or not. |
| /s/ is voiceless, and /z/ is voiced |
| When you pronounce /s/, like in sous, |
| your vocal cords do not vibrate. |
| When you pronounce /z/, like in zéro, |
| your vocal cords do vibrate. |
| So, Listen to the difference and repeat after me. |
| s z |
| [3 sec pause] |
| s z (enunciated). |
| [3 sec pause] |
| s z |
| s z |
| [3 sec pause] |
| s z (enunciated). |
| [3 sec pause] |
| s z |
| So try to focus on whether your vocal folds vibrate or not when you pronounce these two sounds. |
| Listen and repeat or speak along with me. |
| Ready? |
| douce/douze |
| (space for repetition) |
| douce/douze |
| ils sont/ils ont |
| (space for repetition) |
| ils sont/ils ont |
| Let's review. Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then, repeat after me, focusing on pronunciation. |
| Do you remember the sound that's voiced? |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| z |
| (1) |
| z |
| And the voiceless sound? |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| s |
| (1) |
| s |
| Let's practice. |
| Compare the sounds in these two words. Which word has the voiced sound, and which has the voiceless sound? |
| douce/douze |
| (1) |
| douce/douze |
| (1) |
| Douze has the voiced sound, and douce has the voiceless sound. |
| Let's try another. |
| (3 sec pause) |
| ils sont/ils ont |
| (1) |
| ils sont/ils ont |
| (1) |
| Ils ont has the voiced sound, and ils sont has the voiceless sound. |
| Let's try one more. |
| (3 sec pause) |
| poisson/poison |
| (1) |
| poisson/poison |
| (1) |
| Poison has the voiced sound, and poisson has the voiceless sound. |
| Now, listen to the following sentences. Which words have the voiced sound, and which have the voiceless sound? |
| (1 sec pause) |
| Il a acheté douze patates douces. |
| douze, douce |
| (3 sec pause) |
| Ils sont heureux quand ils ont du temps libre. |
| (3 sec pause) |
| ils ont, ils sont |
| (3 sec pause) |
| Read the following sentence out loud, focusing on the different sounds. |
| Ce poisson contient du poison. |
| (3 sec pause) |
| poison, poisson |
| By the way, if you watched til the end |
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