Consonant Sound / ʃ / as in "show" – American English Pronunciation

Pronunciation of the / ʃ / fricative is difficult for many non-native English speakers.
First, the spelling is quite tricky and may be confusing. Second, even if you crack the spelling, you may still involuntarily mispronounce this sound.
Watch this video to find out how to pronounce the / ʃ / consonant correctly and avoid the common pronunciation mistakes. You'll practice making this sound with pronunciation exercises recorded by a professional speech therapist.

Quick Links:
• A brief overview of fricative consonants: 0:50
• Fricative consonants definition: 01:40
• How to pronounce the /ʃ/ sound: 02:35
• Typical mistakes: 03:40
• Pronunciation exercise 1: 05:56
• Pronunciation exercise 2: 07:38
• Pronunciation exercise 3: 09:07
• Spelling for the / ʃ / sound: 10:45

Related Videos:
#AmericanPronunciation #ConsonantSounds #FricativeSounds
► Consonant Sound /f/ as in "fun" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05f62-73nrY
► Consonant Sound /v/ as in "very" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5Oro6v0klg
► Consonant Sound /s/ as in "sun" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hWPXaPXrnQ
► Consonant Sound /z/ as in "zoo" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ky7Jh9Bbjts
► Consonant Sound /ʃ/ as in "show" - this video
► Consonant Sound /ʒ/ as in "vision" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8ImSmVOSVA
► Consonant Sound /θ/ as in "think" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qC0l6GQZtM4
► Consonant Sound /ð/ as in "this" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZb_EWVCUoE
► Consonant Sound /h/ as in "home" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dV6At0g4n78

► The Shocking Truth About Long And Short English Vowels https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQa9w__GqLc
► Interactive Vowel Sounds Chart https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EdRAfOMfnU&

[THIS VIDEO HAS ENGLISH, JAPANESE, CHINESE, VIETNAMESE, AND PORTUGUESE SUBTITLES]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRANSCRIPT

Hello there! This is the "Sounds American" channel.
In this video, we're going to talk about the American consonant sound /ʃ/, as in the word "show."
You can also hear this sound in words like "ship," "cash," "option" or "chef."
We'll be using this cute phonetic symbol - /ʃ/ - for this sound.
As always, let's begin with some phonology. Take it easy, it's not complicated :).
The /ʃ/ belongs to a category of consonant sounds called the fricatives.
This is the largest group of consonants in American English: it consists of nine different sounds!
Take a look:
So, why are they called the fricative consonants?
All these sounds are made by partially blocking the air, moving through your mouth, which creates an audible friction.

Speaking about the /ʃ/ consonant, - this sound is made by partially blocking the air, flowing between the blade of your tongue and the roof of your mouth.

Slightly open your mouth and round your lips. You may push them out a little.
Now, focus on your tongue.
Arch your tongue and raise it to the roof of your mouth, but don't touch it. Make sure there's a small gap between them.
Next, release a stream of air over your tongue.
When the air flows between the blade of your tongue and the roof of your mouth, it'll create lots of noise. Something like this: /ʃ/.
Remember, the fricatives are continuous sounds and so is the /ʃ/ consonant.
Let's try and stretch it out. Ready? /ʃ-ʃ-ʃ-ʃ-ʃ/
Excellent. How about one more time? /ʃ-ʃ-ʃ-ʃ-ʃ/

Here are a few typical mistakes that people make when pronouncing this sound.
1. Some Spanish speakers confuse the /ʃ/ and the /tʃ/ sounds. As you may have already guessed, it leads to misunderstandings.
Make sure that you don't stop the air before making the /ʃ/ sound because that's exactly how the /tʃ/ sound is made.
2. Another problem is that some non-native English speakers replace the /ʃ/ with the /s/ consonant, especially when it occurs at the beginning of words.
The /ʃ/ gets distorted when you move the tip of your of your tongue too close to your alveolar ridge.
3. And finally, always keep in mind the Vowel Length rule!
The /ʃ/ is a voiceless consonant, so vowel sounds before the /ʃ/ are typically shorter than they are before voiced consonants.
[Pronunciation exercise 1]
• blush
• bush
• dish
• finish
• fish
• leash
• publish
• push
• shake
• share
• shine
• short
• shut
• shy
• wash
[Pronunciation exercise 2]
• associate
• chef
• Chicago
• commercial
• especially
• financial
• gracious
• grocery
• machine
• ocean
• official
• social
• special
• species
• sufficient
[Pronunciation exercise 3]
• action
• completion
• condition
• construction
• corporation
• definition
• dictionary
• election
• emotion
• fiction
• function
• intuition
• location
• patient
• tradition

Видео Consonant Sound / ʃ / as in "show" – American English Pronunciation канала Sounds American