Sibilants

Sibilants are sounds that make a hiss or a buzz. They can be either voiced or voiceless.

The following consonants are voiceless sibilants in English:
/s/,/∫/, & /ʧ/

The following consonants are voiced sibilants in English:
/z/, /ʒ/, & /dʒ/

In addition to have correct pronunciation of these individual consonants, sibilants are important because they tell you how to pronounce the final s in English.

If a word ends in a sibilant, you need to pronounce the plural as /Iz/. This adds another syllable to the word. For example the word class is one syllable, but if you make it plural, classes, it is now two syllables: /klæs Iz/

Here are some examples for you.

dances- /dæns Iz/
washes- /wɑ∫ Iz/
languages- /læŋ gwɪdʒ Iz/
relaxes-/rə læks Iz/
James’- /dʒæmz Iz/

If you want more sibilant practice, you can check out these links.

Pronunciation Meg's first sibilant lesson
Pronunciation Meg's second sibilant lesson
Pronunciation Meg's third sibilant lesson

A word of warning
Be careful- I've noticed a lot of Korean speakers add a /iy/ after final sibilants. Try hard not to do this! What do I mean? Well, I mean instead of saying /kɑlIdʒ/ for college, many Korean speakers say /kɑlIdʒiy/.

Here are some other examples I've noticed:


church- Correct: /ʧərʧ/ Incorrect: /ʧərʧiy/

judge- Correct: /dʒʌdʒ/ Incorrect: /dʒʌdʒiy/

watch- Correct: /wɑʧ/ Incorrect: /wɑʧiy/

English- Correct: /ɪŋglɪʃ/ Incorrect: /ɪŋglɪʃiy/

The sibilant /dʒ/ is often confused with the continuant /y/ by many Spanish speakers. I've made a recording of these sounds for you to practice here. (This is from our book.)

/dʒ/
Joe
jar
judge
joy
jury
jam
just
job
Jack
juice
jump
jelly

/y/
yes
you
young
your
year
yet
yard
yellow

Teresa reading the /dʒ/ & /y/ sounds.


Many students have difficulties with the voiceless sibilants /∫/ & /ʧ/. (This is from our book.)

Voiceless Sibilants /∫/ & /ʧ/

share chair
shoe chew
sheep cheap
shop chop
wish witch
dish ditch
mush much
cash catch

Teresa reading the /∫/ & /ʧ/ sounds.

Practice from our book:

What did you watch? A movie

What did you wash? My car

What does “chatter” mean? To talk fast

What does “shatter” mean? To break glass

Does Jack eat much? No, not a lot.

Does Jack eat mush? It’s his favorite cereal.

What’s a “chip”? A small piece

What’s a “ship”? A big boat

What’s a “sip”? A little drink

What does “cheap” mean? Not expensive

What does “jeep” mean? A car for rough roads

Where does “c” go in the alphabet? It’s the third letter.

Where does “z” go in the alphabet? At the end

Where does “g” go in the alphabet? In the middle

What does “choke” mean? To strangle

What does “joke” mean? A funny story

What does “yolk” mean? The yellow part of an egg.

Her son went to Yale. That’s wonderful.

Her son went to jail. That’s terrible.

What’s Jell-o? A dessert

What’s yellow? A color

What does “jell” mean? To become solid

What does “yell” mean? To shout

How do you spell “jewel”? J E W E L

How do you spell “you’ll”? Y O U apostrophe L L

Sibilants Practice: Teresa Pargeter & Eric Lee

Sibilants Practice: Eric Lee & Teresa Pargeter