J -- Z -- ZH
These three sounds in American English have some similarities, but also key differences.
J & Z & ZH Similarities
- Teeth almost touching
- Tip of tongue touches behind top teeth
J - Stop sound - Can't be sustained
Z & ZH
- Can be sustained as long as you can hold your breath
- Has a buzzing or vibration in vocal cords
J & ZH - Lips round and come away from the face
Z - Lips flat along face
See some tips on J & Z from Rachel on YouTube.
The ZH is also in the word Azure
Upon completing these exercises, you may want to try the exercises for Z and S. Helping you to pronounce and identify the Z and S sounds will be easier after reading the post and watching the videos linked here.
Author Jennifer Kumar is a native American English speaker living in Cochin, India. She provides communicative English lessons to Infopark based companies and clients. Check out the Present on Virtual Teams with Confidence program or contact her here.
Related Posts:
Tips for reducing your accent for the R sound in English
Pronunciation tips for TION and SION endings
B and P - Getting the sounds right!
Networked blogs link: http://nblo.gs/Xo69U
Original publishing date: 6/14, updated 5/2020
Clipart adapted from webcomicms.net
