The DZH-Sound
Last week, we talked about the voiceless affricate TCH-sound /tʃ/. Next is the voiced affricate counterpart - the /dʒ/ sound. Check out the affricate blogpost to review what an affricate is but if you want the TLDR, it’s a combination of a stop and a fricative.
The DZH-sound or J-sound is represented in the international phonetic alphabet with this symbol /dʒ/.
The J-sound in is the sound you made for judge, Jordan, jump, and badge.
THE SOUND
The D-sound component is produced when air is blocked with the tongue at the alveolar ridge and released as a stop.
The fricative component, ZH-sound /ʒ/ is produced when air is turbulently forced through a small space between the tongue and post-alveolar ridge space.
The J-sound is the combination of /d/ (a stop) and /dʒ/ (a fricative).
Verbal cues
Start with the two sounds separately (D- and ZH-). It is absolutely okay for there to be a delay in the pronunciation of one sound to the next. Focus on feeling the mouth placement and gradually reducing time lag between the T-sound and the SH-sound.
D......ZHHH......
D....ZHHH....
D..ZHHH..
D.ZHHH/JJJJ
DZHHH/JJJJ
DZHHH/JJJJ
*NOTE - The reason I think representing the sound as DZHHH instead of JJJJ is because I want the sound to be continuous. Having JJJJ visually looks like I want people to say “juhjuhjuhjuh”
Visual Cues
Remember the properties of a plosive and a fricative. A plosive is an explosion of energy built up behind a blockage. So it is a release of pressure behind the tongue.
Then the fricative is a constant stream of energy.
Tactile Cues
Since this is an affricate sound, it starts at the alveolar ridge to produce the D-sound component. Then your tongue shifts backwards in the mouth along the roof of the mouth to the post-alveolar position. You should feel the tongue move back slightly along the roof of your mouth
Again, because it is a voiced sound, there should be a buzzing sensation in your throat.
THE SOUND IN DIFFERENT POSITIONS.
Here's the sound in different positions of a word.
BEGINNING OF THE WORD - jump, jet, jacket, jury, genius, genie, gym, giant
MIDDLE OF THE WORD - dangerous, challenges, languages, enjoy, education, soldier, congratulations, adjust
END OF THE WORD - college, age, huge, fridge
*NOTE - Notice how the J-sound is represented commonly by J- and G-letter at the beginning of the word, the -G-, -D-, -T-, -DJ- in the middle of the word and -DGE or -GE at the end of words.
WHY IT MAY BE HARD
The sound may be hard to pronounce for non-native English speakers who do not have affricates in their language. As a result, when learning the English affricate sounds, it may feel awkward to combine or say these two sounds quickly one after the other.
It can be hard to learn based on spelling because there are many times, particularly in the middle of a word, where -G-, -D-, -T- and -DJ- are not pronounced as a J-sound.
WHAT TO DO
So let's say you do have trouble with your DZH-sound/J-sound. What can you do about it.
Well here are the features of the DZH-sound/J-sound.
Place of articulation - Between your tongue tip and the alveolar ridge as well as the post-alveolar space. Remember this combination sound transitions from one position to the next.
Manner of articulation - Affrication. Airflow is initially obstructed and then released. Then, airflow is turbulent but continuous - like a whistle. It is turbulent because airflow is passing through a narrow passageway. The sound keeps coming out as long as you have air from the lungs to continue the airflow.
Voiced or unvoiced - Voiced (this means the vocal cords vibrate while producing the DZH-sound/J-sound).
You also really have to lock-in and listen for the J-sound in other peoples’ pronunciation. Make a list, keep track, be a proactive part of your English learning experience and pay attention to when others speak.
I’m breaking down every single sound down for you so that you can learn how to produce each sound in English accurately. Sometimes, we’ll have easier sounds and sometimes we’ll have harder sounds.
If you’ve grasped this sound, then great! But if you’ve got a tip that might work for others, or you took a while to produce this sound correct but something clicked for you, let me know down below in the comments. My goal is to have a community know what to do when they’re stuck!
