The English Fricatives

English Phonology

Mia Perlina
(miaperlina@gmail.com)
(dosen00322@unpam.ac.id)
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 The English Fricatives
• The 9 sounds that belong to fricatives: f, v, θ , ð, s, z,
∫, ӡ, and h

• all nine fricative consonants are made by forcing air

through a narrow channel between the articulators

• Each of the fricative sounds will be described in the

following.

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 1. [f] as in fun, office, and if
• [f] is made with the vocal folds not vibrating and the lips
parted temporarily helping the mandible move to place the
lower teeth just under the upper teeth, with the air coming
out of the lungs through the oral cavity unobstructed.
• Some students tend to keep their lips apart and produce a
sound similar to [h]
• Others completely close their lips and make the sound [p]
• For examples:
if you say [h] instead of [f]: fat will sound like hat
if you say [p] instead of [f]: cuff will sound like cup

Feel your lower lip touching the upper teeth and

your [f] will be perfectly fine!
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 [f] as in fun, office, and if
 The letter f is usually pronounced [f]. Exception: the letter
f in the word of is pronounced [v]
 The letters ph are usually pronounced [f]
Photo telephone graph

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 Practice 1.
Read the following phrases and sentences aloud. Pay
attention to the pronunciation of the consonant [f] in the
boldfaced words.

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Exercise 1A

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 Exercise 1B
Read the paragraph aloud. Circle the words that contain the
sound [f]

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 2. [v] as in very, over, and save
• [v] is made with the vocal folds vibrating and the lips parted
temporarily helping the mandible move to place the lower teeth just
under the upper teeth, with the air coming out of the lungs through
the oral cavity unobstructed.
• Students frequently substitute [b] for [v] when speaking English.
This can greatly confuse the listeners.
• For instance:
If you say [b] instead of [v]: very will sound like berry
vest will sound like best
• When [v] is the last sound in a word, many speakers forget to
vibrate their vocal folds. This will make [v] sound like [f] and
confuse the listeners.
• For example:
If you say [f] instead of [v]: save will sound like safe
leave will sound leaf 8
Practice 2.

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 Exercise 2.
Read aloud the poem by Emily Dickinson. Circle the
words that should be pronounced with [v]

Keep practicing every day and your [v] will be very good!
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 3. [θ] as in think, bathtub, and mouth
 [θ] is made with the vocal folds not vibrating while the tip of
the tongue is in contact with bottom part of the back of the
upper teeth, with the air coming out of the lungs through the
oral cavity without constriction.
 The sound [θ] does not exist in most languages. Thus, it may
not easy to produce the sound [θ].
 Because it may be difficult for you to recognize, you probably
substitute more familiar sounds.
 For instances:
if you say [s] instead of [θ]: thank will sound like sank
if you say [∫] instead of [θ] : thin will sound like shin
if you say [f] instead of [θ] : Ruth will sound like roof
if you say [t] instead of [θ] : path will sound like pat
• The consonant [θ] is always spelled th, but not all the 11
letters th are pronounced with [θ]
 Practice 3A.
Read the phrases and sentences aloud. Pay attention to the
pronunciation of the consonant [θ] in the boldfaced words.

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 Exercise 3
Read the paragraph aloud. Circle the words that contain the
consonant [θ].

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Exercise 3B

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 4. [ð] as in the, father, and smooth
• [ð] is made with the vocal folds vibrating while the tip of the tongue is in
contact with bottom part of the back of the upper teeth, with the air
coming out of the lungs through the oral cavity without constriction.
• The sound [ð] is another unfamiliar sound. Therefore, it may be difficult
for you to recognize and produce. You probably substitute the more
familiar sound [d], or possibly [z] or [ӡ]
• For examples:
if you say [d] instead of [ð]: they will sound like day
if you say [z] instead of [ð]: bathe will sound like bays
if you say [ӡ] instead of [ð]: than will sound like Jan

• Look in the mirror as you pronounce [ð]. Make sure that you can see the
tip of your tongue, and there won’t be a problem with these, them, and
those
• The letters th followed by e are usually pronounced [ð]
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e.g. they other bathe
 Practice 4.

[ð] is another sound that you can master, if you

remember that the tip of your tongue goes between
your teeth
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 Exercise 4
Read the words aloud. Circle the word that is NOT
pronounced with the consonant [ð]

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 5. [s] as in sit, basket, and kiss
• [s] is made with the vocal folds not vibrating with the air
coming out of the lungs through the oral cavity and the
closed velum to the opening caused by the tip of tongue
approaching the alveolar ridge.
• The consonant [s] is a common sound.
• Some speakers may incorrectly say [ɛ] before [s] in English.
• Others may say [ʃ] instead of [s] before [i] and [I]
• For example:
if you produce [ɛ] before [s]: state will sound like estate
if you say [ʃ] instead of [s]: sip will sound like ship
• As you say [s], keep airstream steady like the hissing
sound of a snake (ssssss!)
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 5. [s] as in sit, basket, and
kiss

• Less frequent spelling pattern for [s] consists of the letters z

and sc
e.g. swaltz scene pretzel science
• The letter c followed by e, i, or y is usually pronounced [s]
e.g. cent place society fancy
• The letter s in plural nouns is pronounced [s] when it follows
most voiceless consonants
e.g. books coats maps cuffs 19
 Practice 5
Read the paragraph aloud. Pay attention to the
pronunciation of the consonant [s] in the boldfaced
words.

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 Exercise 5
Circle the letter s in each word that is pronounced [s].

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 6. [z] as in zoo, busy, and buzz
• Pronouncing [z]
tongue tip/blade: near but not touching gum ridge behind
the upper front teeth (alveolar ridge)
Airstream: continuous without interruption
Vocal folds: vibrating
• Many students pronounce the letter z in English as an [s]
and [dʒ]
• Also, irregular English spelling patterns contribute to the
problems with this consonant.
• Examples:
if you say [s] instead of [z]: zoo will sound like Sue
eyes will sound like ice
if you say [dʒ] instead of [z]: zest will sound like jest
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 6. [z] as in zoo, busy, and buzz

• The letter x is a less common spelling pattern for [z]

e.g. xylophone xerox
• The letter s is usually pronounced [z] when between
vowels and in a stressed syllable.
e.g. deserve resign because
• The letter s in plural nouns is pronounced [z] when it
follows a vowel or most voiced consonants
e.g. shoes legs beds cars 23
 Practice 6A.
Read the phrases and sentences aloud. Pay attention to the
pronunciation of the consonant [z] in the boldfaced words.

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 Exercise 6A.
Read the words aloud. Circle the word in each group
that is NOT pronounced with [z]

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 [s] vs. [z] in Noun/verb homographs

• Several nouns and verbs are the same in the written form.
However, we can distinguish between these word pairs in
their spoken form.
• The letter s in the noun form is usually pronounced [s]
• In the verb form, it is usually pronounced [z]

Nouns Verbs
s = [s] s = [z]
Excuse (a reason) excuse (to forgive)
House (residence) house (to shelter)
Use (purpose) use (utilize)
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Abuse (mistreatment) abuse (injure)
Practice 6B

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 Exercise 6B
Read the sentence aloud. In the brackets above each
boldfaced word, write [s] or [z]

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 7. [ʃ] as in shoe, nation, and wish
• [∫] is made with the vocal folds not vibrating, with the air
coming out of the lungs through the oral cavity and the
closed velum towards the body of the tongue that is in
contact with the hard palate/postalveolar area.
• The consonant [∫] may not be familiar to you. You may
accidentally substitute the more familiar [s] or [t∫]
• For example:
if you say [s] instead of [∫]: she will sound like see
if you say [t∫] instead of [∫]: shoe will sound like chew
• The less spelling pattern for [∫] consists of the letter s, ce,
and xi
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 7. [ʃ] as in shoe, nation, and wish

The less spelling pattern for [∫] consists of the letter s,

ce, and xi
e.g. sugar pension ocean anxious
the letter t, ss, and c before suffixes beginning with i are
usually pronounced [ʃ]
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e.g. Nation profession social
Practice 7.

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 Execise 7.
Identify the correct occupation from the box. Pay attention to
the consonant [ʃ]

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 8. [ӡ] as in measure, vision, and rouge
• [ӡ] is made with the vocal folds vibrating, with the air coming
out of the lungs through the oral cavity and the closed velum
toward the body of the tongue that is in contact with the
hard palate/postalveolar area.
• Pronunciation problems occur because of similarities between
[ӡ] and other sounds, e.g. [ʃ] or [dӡ]
• For instances:
if you say [ʃ] instead of [ӡ]: vision will sound like vishion
if you say [dӡ] instead of [ӡ]: pleasure will sound like
pledger
• In English, [ӡ] does not occur at the beginning of the words
• A less frequent spelling pattern for [ӡ] consist of the letters zu
e.g. azure seizure
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8. [ӡ] as in measure, vision, and
rouge

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Practice 8

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 Exercise 8
Read the words aloud. Circle the word in each group that is
NOT pronounced [ʒ]

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 9. [h] as in hat and behind
• [h] is made with the vocal folds not vibrating, with the air coming out
of the lungs not constricted in the glottal region through the oral cavity
• A less frequent spelling pattern for [h] is wh
e.g: who whom whose whole
• The letter h is silent when it follows k, g, or r at the beginning of
words
ex: ghost khaki rhubarb
• The letter h is always silent in the words honest, hour, heir, honor,
and herb (AmE)
• The consonant [h] does not occur at the end of the words in
English!

Work hard and you’ll be happy with [h]! 37

 Practice 9.
Read the sentences aloud. Pay attention to the pronunciation
of the consonant [h] in the boldfaced words.

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 Exercise 9
Read the dialog aloud with a partner. Circle the words
containing the sound [h]

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