Unit 17: Fresh fish, usually /ʃ/ and /ʒ/

A. How to make the sound /ʃ/

Look at the diagram. Listen and say the sound. Your tongue points upwards towards the roof of your mouth.
There is some contact between the tongue and the teeth at the sides of the mouth. There is no voicing (vibration from the throat). Target sound: /ʃʃʃʃʃ/

B. Sound and spelling

/ʃ/ is usually spelled sh. Listen and say these words.

• shop: /ʃɑːp/
• fashion: /ˈfæʃ.ən/
• cash: /kæʃ/
• fresh: /freʃ/
• wash: /wɑːʃ/
• mushroom: /ˈmʌʃ.ruːm/

But /ʃ/ is sometimes spelled in different ways. Listen and say these words.

• ocean: /ˈoʊ.ʃən/
• machine: /məˈʃiːn/
• delicious: /dɪˈlɪʃ.əs/
• special: /ˈspeʃ.əl/
• sugar: /ˈʃʊɡ.ər/
• Russia: /ˈrʌʃ.ə/
• international: /ˌɪn.təˈnæʃ.ən.əl/

Listen and say these sentences:

1. This is a very special pronunciation machine. /ðɪs ɪz ə ˈver.i ˈspeʃ.əl prəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən məˈʃiːn/
2. All our food is fresh, and we serve delicious international specialities. /ɔːl ˈaʊ.ər fuːd ɪz freʃ | ənd wi sɜːrv dɪˈlɪʃ.əs ˌɪn.təˈnæʃ.ən.əl ˌspeʃ.iˈæl.ə.tiz/
3. A: You didn’t put sugar in my tea, did you? /ju ˈdɪd.ənt pʊt ˈʃʊɡ.ər ɪn maɪ tiː| dɪd ju/
4. B: No. /noʊ/
5. A: Are you sure? /ər ju ʃʊr/

C. How to make the sound /ʒ/

Look at the diagram. Listen and say the sound. Your tongue points upwards towards the roof of your mouth.
There is some contact between the tongue and the teeth at the sides of the mouth. /ʒ/ is different from /ʃ/ because there is voicing (vibration from the throat). Target sound: /ʒʒʒʒʒ/

D. Sound and spelling

There are not many words with /ʒ/. It is usually spelled si or s. Listen and say these words.

• television: /ˈtel.ə.vɪʒ.ən/
• Asia: /ˈeɪ.ʒə/
• usually: /ˈjuː.ʒu.ə.li/

Listen and say these phrases and sentences:

1. A: Do you like sport? /du ju laɪk spɔːrt/
2. B: Yes… but only on television, usually! /jes | bʌt ˈoʊn.li ɑːn ˈtel.ə.vɪʒ.ən | ˈjuː.ʒu.ə.li/