Unit 3.1
Letters: T-D, S-Z
Sounds and letters
The letters t–d and s–z represent alveolar consonants. The former are plosives, respectively voiceless and voiced and the latter are fricatives, voiceless and voiced.
The alveolar sounds are:
| Uppercase | Lowercase | Phonetics |
|---|---|---|
| T | t | /t/ |
| D | d | /d/ |
| S | s | /s/ |
| Z | z | /z/ |
t: table, teacher, trainers;
d: digital, dog, drive;
s: casual, spring, student;
z: size, zebra, zero.
To pronounce alveolar consonants the flow of air is stopped or impeded by creating a block or a small opening between the tongue and the alveolar ridge.
To pronounce t-d the tip of the tongue touches the upper teeth creating a gap throughout which the air passes.
- t: voiceless, vocal cords do not vibrate during the articulation of the consonant;
- d: voiced, vocal cords vibrate during the articulation of the consonant;
To pronounce s-z the tip of the tongue touches the lower teeth creating a small gap and producing the sound.
- s: voiceless, vocal cords do not vibrate during the articulation of the consonant;
- z: voiced, vocal cords vibrate during the articulation of the consonant.
