The ZH-Sound
Today, we’re going to discuss the voiced palato-alveolar fricative - ZH-sound /ʒ/.
As you can see, the shape is also a little funny, just like its voiceless counterpart. It’s like the number 3 with a straight top line and shifted downward.
THE SOUND
The ZH-sound /ʒ/ is produced when air is forced through a narrow turbulent passage made between the tongue and the hard palate. Instead of the alveolar ridge just behind your upper teeth, your tongue is further back in the mouth about 1-1.5 cm. As you push air out of your mouth, squeeze the air between the tip of your tongue and the top of your mouth. You should feel some resistance.
For the ZH-sound /ʒ/, the sound is voiced (the vocal cords vibrate while producing it), and the the voiceless counterpart sound is the SH-sound /ʃ/.
Verbal cues
Exaggerate your /ʒ/ sound at first. Because it is a fricative sound, the /ʒ/ is a continuous consonant and can be held for several seconds. Try holding the ZH-sound for 5 seconds.
Remember that the tongue tip contact should be light further back behind the alveolar ridge. Harsh pressure is not needed and not helpful.
Visual Cues
Remember to keep the tongue tip position behind the teeth. If you look at a mirror, the tongue should be kept hidden behind the teeth and should not be visible in your reflection.
The second thing about the SH-sound is your lips are slight rounded and protruded. Imagine a librarians shushing you to be quiet.
Tactile Cues
If you need help finding the tongue position, start from the alveolar ridge. Run your tongue along the back of the top teeth. Next, run it along the soft gum line behind your teeth. Now finally, run it further back into the mouth where the gum line begins to feel harder. That border of soft to hard gum line is where your tongue should be.
As for your lips, they need to round and protrude. Round your lips like you are a fish or trying to kiss someone. If you put a finger in front of your lips like you are shushing someone. Try to touch your finger with your lips without moving your head forward. You will start to protrude your lips.
Again, because it is a voiced sound, there is also a buzzing sensation in your throat.
THE SOUND IN DIFFERENT POSITIONS.
Here's the sound in different positions of a word.
MIDDLE OF THE WORD - abrasion, casual, closure, collision, composure, conclusion, confusion, decision, leisure, usual, seizure, , dijon
END OF THE WORD - corsage, beige
*NOTE - Notice how the ZH-sound is represented typically in the MIDDLE of words and sometimes at the END of words. There are no English words that start with the ZH-sound.
Here are some of the specific situations and examples where the ZH-sound can appear.
VOWEL + “-S-” + “-ION”
collision, erosion, adhesion, invasion
R + “-SION”
aversion, immersion
VOWEL + S + “-URE”
treasure, pleasure, closure
VOWEL + “-Z-” + “-URE”
seizure, azure
These are the only two English words where the ZH-sound is represented by a Z-letter
VOWEL + S + “-IA”
Asia, amnesia
VOWEL + “-SUAL”
casual, visual
VOWEL + “-G-” + VOWEL
garage, beige, arbitrage, massage, camouflage
Typically with ‘Soft G’ sounds, the G-letter can sometimes reflect the ZH-sound. There unfortunately, is no consistent pattern for this, so it will need to be memorized as you learn your English vocabulary. After the S-letter, the G-letter is the second most likely letter to represent the ZH-sound.
FORMED BY OTHER LETTERS
THE LETTER J
Beijing, Taj Mahal
The letter J only represents the ZH-sound in foreign loanwords.
THE LETTER T and X
equation, luxury
These are the only two English words where the ZH-sound is represented by a T-letter or X-letter
SITUATIONS THAT SEEM LIKE THE SOUND BUT AREN'T
There is another sound that shares some properties with the ZH-sound. The J-sound (/dʒ/), also referred sometimes as the DZ-sound is actually a combination sound and one of the combined sounds is in fact the /ʒ/. So words with the J-sound might seem like the ZH-sound.
Words include: judge, mage, jump, suggest
WHY IT MAY BE HARD
As you could see above, sometimes the ZH-sound can be represented in multiple possible letters. It can be extremely hard to imagine that one sound can be made by the letter T, the letter X, the letter J, the letter G, the letter S and the letter Z in specific situations.
By now, you should be fairly familiar with voicing and being able to turn on and off the vibration based on your experience with other sounds (For example, T vs. D, P vs. B, K vs. G, F vs. V, S vs. Z). So if you are comfortable with the SH-sound, then the ZH-sound is the exact same mouth placement with voicing.
WHAT TO DO
So let's say you do have trouble with your ZH-sound. What can you do about it.
Well here are the features of the ZH-sound.
Place of articulation - Between your tongue tip and the space behind the alveolar ridge (the ridge behind your top teeth). It’s often referred to as palato-alveolar or postalveolar.
Manner of articulation - Frication. 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 ZH-sound).
TIPS & EXTRA CONSIDERATIONS
The important consideration for the ZH-sound is knowing when to produce the ZH-sound. Listening is key in this sound because it is a distinct turbulent sound that can be represented by many different letters. Definitely review the above list of combinations for ZH-sound production. Check out this post as well which flags a more detailed list of words.
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!
