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1 year ago The spelling of the /s/ sound can be tricky so let's look at the typical ways how we spell this sound
There are of course always exceptions to rules but the following will give you a good understanding of the basic principles.
The letter "S" at the beginning of words, such as in: step, son, sign. The letter "S" before an unvoiced consonants, as in: asphalt, mister, taste The letter "S" after unvoiced consonants, as in: likes, cuffs, cats The double "SS", as in: miss, boss, missile, possible "CE" / "CI" / "CY" at the beginning or the end of words, are usually pronouned as /s/, such as in: nice, city, twice, lucy The "SCI" and "SCE" at the beginning of words: scene, science The "OUS" at the end of words: famous, dangerous, precious. The letter "X" (/ks/) at the end of words and before an unvoiced consonant: Fix, mix, Oxford, next, extra. Some Iregular words are: Promise, course, worse, house
Can you hear the difference between the words sin and shin lass and lash
Can you say these words accurately?
Do you know how to say these words on the screen? mission possible scene nation precious
Can you say the scenseten accurately, like this? Shelly says she can see you shortly
The sounds we are going to work on today are the /s/ and the /ʃ/ sounds.
/s/ as in: school, listen, house
/ʃ/ as in: sugar, mission, wash
The are 5 typical errors that VNese people make with the /s/ and the /ʃ/ sounds when speaking English:
First, some peoble always use the /s/ sound, even when the should say the /ʃ/ sound.
....
Or they always use the /ʃ/ sound, even when they should say the /s/ sound.
So these people sound like this:
Second, many VNese do not realize that the /s/ and the /ʃ/ sounds are actually two different sounds in English, and the pronounce a sound that sounds like the mix of these two sounds. This is not a sound of English
Third, the tougue of many VNese people are too slow and they cannot change between the /s/ and the /ʃ/ sounds fast enough. when they have to say more of these sounds in a word or a sentense. And English is full of /s/ and /ʃ/ sounds
Fourth, sometimes VNese people dont know which of the two sounds should be used when they see a word with these sounds.
I agree, spelling of the /s/ and the /ʃ/ sounds can be tricky.
Finally, very often VNese people simply forget to say the /s/ and /ʃ/ sounds. Especially at the end of words and before consonants.
So they will say "how" instead of "house", /mite/ instead of "mister", /wa/ instead of "wash".
This is the biggest problem with the /s/ and /ʃ/ sounds and makes VNese English almost impossible to understand for people who are not familiar with this speaking problem.
A critical difference between the English and VNese languages, is that in VNese you need to use your throat and vocal chords to produce the different tones correctly.
while in English you need to use your toungue to produce the different consonant sounds
This is the main reason why VNese people find spkeaing Englise so hard
Their tongues are simply too weak and not so well controlled.
In this video, we will learn how to say the /s/ and the /ʃ/ sounds well and what the differences are, we will examine how we typically spell words with the /s/ and the /ʃ/ sounds.
We will practice saying words and sentences with these two sounds. We will test your newly acquired skills.
So, let;s correct these mistakes and start Speaking accurate English.
Are you with me? Let's go
The sound /s/ in English is like saying the "X" /sa/ in VNese
such as in "Xin, sin, xin chao", you need to do 3 things: First, spread your lips a little and smile.
Second, position your tongue in the middle of your mouth. Smiling will help your tongue to be wide and flat in your mouth.
The tip of your tongue mingt touch the inside of your lower teeth.
finally, blow the air out.
The /s/ sound is unvoiced so there should be no vibration in your throat.
The /s/ is a sharp sound, like a knife.
Some words with the /s/ sound:
Seat sip sin sue, so mass lass ass listen best.
Pause this video and practice saying these words with the correct /s/ sound.
Remember the VNese word "xin" and dont forget to smile.
Use a mirror if necessary to check your lip position.
To make sure you remember saying the /s/ sound well, say it a liddt longer in each word, like bessst.
the /ʃ/ sound in English is like the sound you make when you want to show to somebody to be quite "shhhhhh"
You need to do 3 things:
First, round your lips and push them slightly forward. Second, position your tongue so that it is pulled back and th middle part is raised while the tip is pointing down.
The sides of your tongue will curl up a little and might touch the inside of your cheek.
Use your fingers to mmic the "shshsh" gesture to help you find the correct tongue position easier.
Finally, blow the air out.
The /ʃ/ sound in unvoiced so there should be no vibration in your throat. The /ʃ/ sound in a soft, relaxing sound, not sharp like the /s/ sound.
Some words with the /ʃ/ sound:
Sheet ship shin shoe show mash lash ash mission nation
Pause this video and practice saying these words with the correct /ʃ/ sound.
Remember the "shhhhhhh"
Use a mirror if necessary to check your lip position. To make sure you remember saying the /ʃ/ sound, say it a little longer in each word, like "missssion".