# 4 Pronouncing the sounds [ s ] and [ z ]

In this section you will practise pronouncing the sounds [ s ] and [ z ].

Where there is a single ‘s’ between two vowels in a word, it is pronounced [ z ] as in ‘zero’, for example in the word poison. Where there is a double ‘s’ between two vowels this is pronounced [ s ] as in ‘mass’, for example in the word poisson. It is very important to distinguish between these sounds, as some words with quite similar spellings but very different meanings could otherwise be confused, e.g. dessert (‘dessert’) and désert (‘desert’)!

## Activité 15

#### Task 1

Listen to the audio track and select whether you hear an ‘s’ sound (as in poisson) or a ‘z’ sound (as in raisin).

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Audio 17
Transcript

#### Question 1

assiette

[s]
[z]

#### Question 2

raisin

[s]
[z]

#### Question 3

parmesan

[s]
[z]

#### Question 4

soupe

[s]
[z]

#### Question 5

croissant

[s]
[z]

#### Question 6

pissaladière

[s]
[z]

#### Question 7

boisson

[s]
[z]

#### Question 8

cuisine

[s]
[z]

#### Question 9

spécialités

[s]
[z]

#### Question 10

soufflé

[s]
[z]

#### Question 11

poisson

[s]
[z]

#### Question 12

poison

[s]
[z]

#### Question 13

désert

[s]
[z]

#### Question 14

dessert

[s]
[z]

## Activité 16

#### Task 1

In this activity you will practise the pronunciation of the sounds [ s ] and [ z ].

Listen to each of the recordings below, then practise repeating the words with the appropriate pronunciation.

1.

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Audio 5a
Transcript

2.

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Audio 5b
Transcript

3.

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Audio 5c
Transcript

4.

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Audio 5d
Transcript

5.

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Audio 5e
Transcript

6.

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Audio 5f
Transcript

OpenLearn - Beginners’ French: food and drink
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