Spoken English, Vocabulary Development: Consonant Sounds: /Z/, /3/, /j/ – SS1 English Lesson Note (First Term)

Consonant sounds are speech sounds made when the flow of air from the lungs is blocked or narrowed in the mouth by the tongue, teeth or lips.

English has 24 consonant sounds: 15 voiced and 9 voiceless. This lesson covers the voiced consonants /j/, /z/ and /ʒ/, and agricultural vocabulary.

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. explain what consonant sounds are;
2. distinguish between voiced and voiceless consonants;
3. describe how the sounds /j/, /z/ and /ʒ/ are produced;
4. give words that contain the sounds /j/, /z/ and /ʒ/;
5. explain the meanings of words associated with agriculture.

What are consonant sounds?

Consonant sounds are speech sounds produced with an obstruction of the air stream.

• Obstruction: air from the lungs is blocked or narrowed in the mouth.
• Organs involved: the tongue, teeth, lips and palate.
• Number: English has twenty-four (24) consonant sounds.
• Sounds, not letters: English has 21 consonant letters but 24 consonant sounds, so some sounds share letters.

What are voiced and voiceless consonants?

Consonants are divided into two groups by whether the vocal cords vibrate: voiced and voiceless.

Voiced consonants

Voiced consonants are produced with the vocal cords vibrating.

• Number: there are fifteen (15) voiced consonant sounds.
• Sounds: /b/, /d/, /g/, /v/, /ð/, /z/, /ʒ/, /l/, /r/, /w/, /j/, /n/, /ŋ/, /m/, /dʒ/.

Voiceless consonants

Voiceless consonants are produced without any vibration of the vocal cords.

• Number: there are nine (9) voiceless consonant sounds.
• Sounds: /p/, /t/, /k/, /f/, /s/, /θ/, /ʃ/, /tʃ/, /h/.

How can you tell if a sound is voiced?

1. Place your fingers lightly on your throat.
2. Say the sound on its own, for example /z/.
3. Feel for a buzz. A buzz means the sound is voiced.
4. Say /s/ and compare. There is no buzz, so /s/ is voiceless.

What is the consonant sound /j/?

/j/ is a voiced palatal sound, also called a semi-vowel.

• Voicing: voiced.
• Place: the front of the tongue is raised towards the hard palate.
• Lips: they are in a spread position.
• Position in words: it does not occur at the end of words.
• Spellings: y, u, ew, ue, eu and eau.

Examples of words with /j/

• Yes: /jes/
• Young: /jʌŋ/
• Youth: /ju:θ/
• Yam: /jæm/
• Yeast: /ji:st/
• Few, cue, feud, beauty: the sound is spelt ew, ue, eu and eau.

What is the consonant sound /z/?

/z/ is a voiced alveolar fricative.

• Voicing: voiced.
• Place: the tip of the tongue is near the alveolar ridge, just behind the upper teeth.
• Manner: air escapes through a narrow gap, giving a hissing sound.
• Spellings: z, zz, s, ss and x.

Examples of words with /z/

• Zero: /ziərou/
• Zoo: /zu:/
• Zebra: /zebrə/
• Zeal: /zi:l/
• Raze: /reiz/
• Crazy: /kreizi/
• Buzz, rose, dessert, exact: the sound is spelt zz, s, ss and x.

What is the difference between /s/ and /z/?

/s/ is the voiceless partner of /z/. Both are made in the same place, but only /z/ has vocal cord vibration.

What is the consonant sound /ʒ/?

/ʒ/ is a voiced palato-alveolar fricative.

• Voicing: voiced.
• Manner: it is produced in a way similar to /z/, with air passing through a narrow gap.
• Place: the tongue is slightly further back than for /z/.
• Position in words: it is rare at the beginning of English words.
• Spellings: su, si and ge.

Examples of words with /ʒ/

• Usual: /ju:ʒuəl/
• Leisure: /leʒə/
• Visual: /viʒuəl/
• Pleasure: /pleʒə/
• Treasure: /treʒə/

How do /j/, /z/ and /ʒ/ compare?

All three sounds are voiced, but they differ in manner and place of production.

What are the words associated with agriculture?

Agricultural vocabulary is the set of words used to talk about farming, crops and animals.

Words for crop farming and farm finance

Words for animal rearing

Evaluation

1. What are consonant sounds?
2. How many voiced and how many voiceless consonant sounds are there in English?
3. Give three words that contain the sound /j/ and three that contain the sound /z/.
4. Which letters represent the sound /ʒ/? Give two examples.
5. Explain the meaning of these words: fallow, orchard, crop rotation.

Assignment

1. List two voiced and two voiceless consonant sounds, other than /j/, /z/ and /ʒ/.
2. Write one word from the lesson for each of the sounds /j/, /z/ and /ʒ/, and write its sound symbols.
3. Use any five of the agricultural words in this lesson in sentences of your own.