The /s/ Sound, Voiceless Alveolar Fricative

/s/

/s/ is a voiceless alveolar fricative. To make it, the tip or blade of the tongue touches the alveolar ridge, just behind the upper teeth and the air is pushed through a narrow gap, which makes friction. It is voiceless, so the vocal folds do not vibrate.

Hear It In The App Naming Practice

Example Words

Word	UK	US
sun	/sʌn/	/sʌn/	Syllables · Pronounce
lesson	/ˈles.ən/	/ˈles.ən/	Syllables · Pronounce
bus	/bʌs/	/bʌs/	Syllables · Pronounce

Distinctive Features

/s/ is told apart from every other English sound by four distinctive features.

See them in DF Analysis

Allophones Of /s/

/s/ has 3 allophones in the app, starting with [sʷ], a consonant immediately before /w/ or a rounded vowel. The full list, where each occurs and the examples are in Allophones, which opens with any course or with Adroit Plus.

See The Allophones Get Access

Words With The /s/ Sound

/s/ At The Start Of A Word

/s/ In The Middle Of A Word

/s/ At The End Of A Word

Minimal Pairs

Minimal Pairs /s/ And /z/ (Sue And Zoo)Minimal Pairs /θ/ And /s/ (Think And Sink)Minimal Pairs /s/ And /ʃ/ (Sip And Ship)

Questions Students Ask

Is /s/ voiced or voiceless?

/s/ is voiceless.

What is the place of articulation of /s/?

/s/ is alveolar, which means the tip or blade of the tongue touches the alveolar ridge, just behind the upper teeth.

What is the manner of articulation of /s/?

/s/ is a fricative, which means the air is pushed through a narrow gap, which makes friction.

Which words have the /s/ sound?

For example sun, lesson, bus.