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LISTEN |
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/ʒ/.../ʒ/.../ʒ/.../ʒ/...
measure...usually...vision...conclusion... | ||
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WHAT IS IT? |
Pronunciation:
The sound /ʒ/ is a voiced, alveo-palatal, fricative consonant.
Spelling:
Grammar Tip:
The sound /ʒ/ is most common in the suffix “-sion.” This suffix transforms some verbs into nouns. If the verb ends in -ude/-ide/-ode/-ade, -ise, -use, or -vert, the final sound often becomes /ʒən/.Lightly press the front part of your tongue between your alveolar ridge and your soft palate. The sides of your tongue should lightly touch your back upper teeth.
The sound /ʒ/ is a voiced, alveo-palatal, fricative consonant.
- Lightly press the middle of your tongue between your alveolar ridge and your soft palate. The sides of your tongue should lightly touch your back upper teeth.
- Breathe out and allow air to flow past your tongue.
- Your vocal cords should vibrate
Spelling:
- "s"/"si" - usually, vision
- "g"/"ge" - rouge, genre
Grammar Tip:
The sound /ʒ/ is most common in the suffix “-sion.” This suffix transforms some verbs into nouns. If the verb ends in -ude/-ide/-ode/-ade, -ise, -use, or -vert, the final sound often becomes /ʒən/.Lightly press the front part of your tongue between your alveolar ridge and your soft palate. The sides of your tongue should lightly touch your back upper teeth.
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COMPARE |
Compare /ʒ/ and /ʃ/:
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/ʒ/…/ʃ/…/ʒ/…/ʃ/…/ʒ/…/ʃ/…
These are both alveo-palatal fricative consonants. However, /ʒ/ is voiced and /ʃ/ is voiceless. | ||
Listen to words with /ʒ/ and /ʃ/. Identify which word has /ʒ/. Choose A or B. You will hear 2 words, followed by the answer. Each pair of words will be said twice.
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1. A. mission, B. decision
2. A. resolution, B. transfusion 3. A. Asian, B. patient 4. A. pleasure, B. pressure 5. A. collision, B. condition | ||
Now, compare /ʒ/ and /dʒ/:
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/ʒ/…/dʒ/…/ʒ/…/dʒ/…/ʒ/…/dʒ/…
These are both voiced, alveo-palatal consonants. However, /ʒ/ is a fricative and /dʒ/ is an affricate. For /dʒ/, the air in your mouth should stop before being released. | ||
Listen to words with /ʒ/ and /dʒ/. Identify which word has /ʒ/. Choose A or B. You will hear 2 words, followed by the answer. Each pair of words will be said twice.
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1. A. genre, B. gender
2. A. major, B. measure 3. A. visual, B. individual 4. A. version, B. virgin 5. A. gradual, B. casual | ||
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PRACTICE |
Listen and repeat these words:
| words_with_-zh-.mp3 |
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1. genre
2. beige 3. massage 4. prestige 5. camouflage 6. casual 7. Asia 8. treasure 9. confusion 10. version |
11. conversion
12. decision 13. enclosure 14. usually 15. inclusion 16. measurement 17. television 18. erosion 19. invasion 20. casualty |
Now, practice /ʒ/ in sentences. Say the words first, then the sentences.
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1. usually – television – I usually don’t watch much television.
2. casually – occasion – Should I dress casually for this occasion? 3. collision – explosion – The collision of the two airplanes caused an explosion. 4. measure – erosion – It’s difficult to measure how much erosion has occurred. 5. pleasure – Asia – It was a pleasure to visit my friends in Asia. 6. decision – confusion – The president’s decision caused some confusion. | ||
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USE IT! |
Practice the task below. Then, record yourself completing that task. Give your recording to a teacher or an English-speaking friend for feedback.
Prepare:
What do you do on a normal day? Look at the list below. Do you do each activity always, usually, or occasionally.
Prepare:
What do you do on a normal day? Look at the list below. Do you do each activity always, usually, or occasionally.
Record:
In your recording, describe 2 things you usually do and 2 things you occasionally do. Explain what makes these things more frequent or less frequent.
© 2018, Christine Wingate
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
