Consonant Sound / s / as in "sun" – American English Pronunciation

The /s/ is one of the most common sounds in the world. Does it mean that it's pronounced the same way everywhere? No, of course not. Watch this video to find out the most common pronunciation mistakes non-native speakers make when they speak American English. You'll practice making this sound with pronunciation exercises recorded by a professional speech therapist.

By the way, we have a website: https://soundsamerican.net/

Quick Links:
• Consonant sound /s/, as in "sun:" 00:00
• Brief overview of fricative consonants: 00:48
• Fricative consonants definition: 01:30
• How to pronounce the /s/ sound: 02:29
• Typical mistakes: 03:30
• Pronunciation exercise 1: 06:42
• Pronunciation exercise 2: 08:29
• Pronunciation exercise 3: 09:57
• Spelling for the /s/ sound: 11:30
• Question from our subscribers: 12:09

Related Videos:
#AmericanPronunciation #ConsonantSounds #FricativeSounds
► Consonant Sound /f/ as in "fun"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05f62-73nrY
► Consonant Sound /v/ as in "very"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5Oro6v0klg
► Consonant Sound /s/ as in "sun" - this video
► Consonant Sound /z/ as in "zoo"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ky7Jh9Bbjts
► Consonant Sound /ʃ/ as in "show"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wINb4HFguck
► Consonant Sound /ʒ/ as in "vision"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8ImSmVOSVA
► Consonant Sound /θ/ as in "think"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qC0l6GQZtM4
► Consonant Sound /ð/ as in "this"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZb_EWVCUoE
► Consonant Sound /h/ as in "home"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dV6At0g4n78

► Vowel Length Rule:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQa9w__GqLc&t=364s

[THIS VIDEO HAS ENGLISH, CHINESE, VIETNAMESE, JAPANESE, AND PORTUGUESE SUBTITLES]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
TRANSCRIPT
Hello there! This is the "Sounds American" channel.
In this video, we're going to talk about the American consonant sound /s/, as in the word "sun."
You can also hear this sound in words like "sleep," "place," "dress" or "horse."
We'll be using a special phonetic symbol - /s/ - for this sound.
As usual, let's begin with some phonology. Don't panic, it's not complicated :).
The /s/ belongs to a category of consonant sounds called the fricatives.
This is the largest group of consonants in American English: it consists of nine different sounds!
So, why are they called the fricative consonants?
All these sounds are made by partially blocking the air moving through your mouth, which creates audible friction.
Speaking about the /s/ consonant, this sound is made by partially blocking the air flowing between the tip of your tongue and your alveolar ridge.
The /s/ is one of the most common sounds in the world. Most of you are familiar with it and probably have this consonant in your native language.
As always, we did our best to make this video worthy of your time. However, you don't have to watch it if you're confident in your American /s/ sound. We'll understand.
For those of you who're still with us, let's find it out how to make this sound.
Slightly open your mouth.
Now, focus on the position of the tip of your tongue.
Raise the tip of your tongue to your alveolar ridge, but don't touch it. Make sure there's a small gap between them.
Now, release a stream of air over your tongue.
When the air flows between the tip of your tongue and the alveolar ridge towards your upper teeth, it'll create lots of noise. Something like this: /s/.
Remember, all the fricatives are continuous sounds and the /s/ is no exception. So, let's try and stretch it out. Ready? /s-s-s-s-s/
Good. Let's do it again: /s-s-s-s-s/
Here are a few typical mistakes that people make when pronouncing this sound.
1. The most common problem is that many non-native English speakers replace the /s/ with the /ʃ/ consonant, especially when it occurs before vowels or at the end of words.
The /s/ gets distorted when you raise the blade of your tongue toward the roof of your mouth.
See how it may lead to misunderstandings?

[Pronunciation exercise 1]
• same
• sat
• saw
• say
• scene
• scrap
• scratch
• scream
• script
• seed
• seek
• send
• sing
• sky
• sleep

[Pronunciation exercise 2]
• ask
• assign
• assist
• best
• disappear
• dislike
• distant
• domestic
• dust
• eastern
• hospital
• icicle
• install
• massage
• person

[Pronunciation exercise 3]
• advice
• audience
• balance
• bounce
• chance
• circus
• course
• dress
• entrance
• fox
• juice
• nice
• purpose
• twice
• us