The voiceless is usually written s, but also ss, and c or sc before e and i (as in city, scene, but not in sceptic [skeptik]).
Say which of the sounds [ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ, s, z] occur in the following words:
church, machine, ledger, leisure, seizure, cease, ease, scissors, chisel, lesion, legion, singe, excessive, example.
Notice that final [z] is unvoiced towards the end; thus is is strictly [izz̥]; compare what was said about final [v] in § 27.
The term lisping is given to various mispronunciations of the s sounds. It may be due to a lasting or a passing malformation of the teeth, palate, or tongue,[33] or it may be simply a bad habit. A slight habitual lisp is often heard, and parents and friends have been known foolishly to encourage a child in the belief that the lisp is "pretty"; it is important to drive this idea out of the child's head. The treatment of lispers is varied; generally they can produce the right sound after some experimenting. When the right sound has been found and distinguished by the child, the rest is entirely a matter of perseverance. There must be frequent repetition in many combinations. The exercises should be practised sparingly at first, and gradually increased, otherwise the strain may be too great and interfere with the child's regular work.
31. The lisping sounds.—Distinguish clearly the voiceless [θ] as in thistle, and the voiced [ð] as in this. Compare the manner of production of the lisping and the hissing sounds: utter [θ] and . You will find that in the case of [θ] the breath is not passing through a narrow channel, and issues between the tips of the upper teeth and of the tongue. The tongue may be between the teeth, and the sounds are accordingly sometimes called interdental; but this is by no means essential. Our English lisping sounds are usually formed between the point of the tongue and the back of the front upper teeth; part of the tongue fills up the small gap between the teeth, without advancing beyond their back surface.
Which of the following words have [θ] and which have [ð]?
thorn, thou, bath*, baths*, bathe*, then, think, clothe*, cloth*, with, father, thump, lethal, leather, lath, lathe, lithe, loath*, loathe*, breath*, breathe*, heathen, heath, heaths, wreathe*, wreath*, wreaths*, seethe, truth*, truths*.