Consonant Sound / ʒ / as in 'vision' – American English Pronunciation

The / ʒ / sound is one of, if not the rarest sounds in American English. If you take 10,000 most common English words, only 74 words will have the /ʒ/ sound. Trust us, we counted them all.
So if you wonder if you can safely skip this sound, go ahead. But if you're not that kind of person, this video is for you.
You'll find out how to pronounce the /ʒ/ consonant correctly and practice making this sound with pronunciation exercises recorded by a professional speech therapist.

Quick Links:
• Consonant sound /ʒ/, as in "vision:" 00:00
• A brief overview of fricative consonants: 00:47
• Fricative consonants definition: 01:38
• How to pronounce the /ʒ/ sound: 02:47
• Typical mistakes: 04:11
• Pronunciation exercise: 06:20
• Spelling for the /ʒ/ sound: 08:29

Related Videos:
#AmericanPronunciation #ConsonantSounds #FricativeSounds
► Consonant Sound /ʒ/ as in "vision" – this video

[THIS VIDEO HAS ENGLISH, 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 /ʒ/,
as in the word "vision."
You can also hear this sound in words like "measure," "usual," "beige" or "massage."
We'll be using a special phonetic symbol - /ʒ/ - for this sound.

As usual, let's begin with some phonology. Stay calm, it's not complicated :).
The /ʒ/ 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!
So, why are they called the fricative consonants?
All these sounds are made by partially blocking the air moving through your mouth, which creates audible friction.

Speaking about the /ʒ/ consonant, - this sound is made by partially blocking the air flowing between the blade of your tongue and the roof of your mouth.
The /ʒ/ sound is incredibly rare. It's present in less than 1% of English words.
You know, it's okay if you think that this sound isn't worth the trouble learning it.
But you'll have to avoid using words like
"usual,"
"casual,"
"decision,"
and "television."
It's your decision, of course, but we kind of like these words.
So, let's find out how to make the /ʒ/ sound.
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: /ʒ/.
The /ʒ/ is a voiced sound, so don't forget to add your voice.
Remember, the fricatives are continuous sounds and this is also true for the /ʒ/ sound.
So, let's try and stretch it out. Ready? /ʒ-ʒ-ʒ-ʒ-ʒ/
Awesome. Want to try it one more time? /ʒ-ʒ-ʒ-ʒ-ʒ/

Here are a few typical mistakes that people make when pronouncing this sound.
Number 1. The most common mistake is that many non-native speakers devoice the /ʒ/ sound. Usually, people don't realize that they pronounce the voiceless /ʃ/ sound instead. Remember, this may work for other languages, but the American /ʒ/ should never be devoiced in words.

By the way, don't forget to lengthen the vowel before the /ʒ/ sound! Remember our Vowel Length rule? The /ʒ/ is a voiced consonant, so the vowel sound before the /ʒ/ is typically longer than before its voiceless counterpart, the consonant sound /ʃ/.
Number two.
Another problem is that some people involuntarily stop the air before making the /ʒ/ sound. As a result, they end up pronouncing a different sound, the /dʒ/ consonant. While this is a nice sound, you shouldn't pronounce it instead of the /ʒ/.
Why? Because this can lead to misunderstandings!

[Pronunciation exercise]
• beige
• camouflage
• closure
• conclusion
• division
• garage
• leisure
• massage
• measure
• occasion
• pleasure
• precision
• prestige
• sabotage
• television
• treasure
• usual
• version
• vision

You're done! Congratulations!

[marcus]

Best pronunciation tutorial on Youtube.

[borisvera]

Your videos should have millions of views and likes. They are EXCELLENT!

[mylearningjournal]

This channel is still the best IPA learning channel in the world.

[ItzLuke-ybhg]

Best pronunciation tutorial on Youtube

[misterio]

Thanks God! I finally find out an awesome pronunciation channel.

[sajitkhadka]

In my native language we don't have separate sounds for z, ʒ and dʒ. It makes me so difficult to differentiate these three sounds. In fact when I try to say something with these sounds the native speakers don't understand me sometimes which is frustrating. Thank you for your clear explanation.

[Werd_cmmenter]

I’m American, and just toured around because I like visiting from time to tie, so here are some tips fr spelling this sound:
S
1. SION, SURE, and SUAL is the most common spelling, use it after a vowel sound
Ex. Division, measure, unusual
It says /sh/ after a consonant though, so be careful!
Ex. Tension, ensure
However, R doesn’t, so watch out!
Excursion, version,
2. These happen at the end of a root word (a word with no prefixes or suffixes, use, do, add, etc.) meaSURE confuSION uSUAL
G
1. This occurs a lot after the /ah/ sound (as in spa, walk, and calm) mirage, camouflage, massage, collage
2. This most commonly comes at the end: like rouge, beige, mirage
3. This never happens after a consonant, or a long vowel (barge, henge, rage, sage)

[thaibaonguyen]

All your video are excellent
Love u (from vietnam 🇻🇳)

[TheSunshinefee]

this is definitely a sound that i need to practice a lot! it's difficult to make it.

[frankmd]

Thanks for your vision and enunciation in producing these amazing sounds!

[Invalid-userk]

I knew it! I knew vision sounded different than age. In the juh sound. The knew age had the djuh sound. Thanks for clarifying. I used you as a source of citation.

[zoe]

Thank you so much for creating these videos. I have been watching it every week! It is so helpful! Thank you again and again.

[vladiboned]

aww man ive been waiting for this also. i knew they were gonna upload this one after they did its voiceless counterpart. it really helps a lot. thank u guys

[aldomatus]

I love this channel! I always come back here

[Laura-lojv]

Thank you. It has been very easy and good video for learning this difficult sound.😊

[Leosha.v.l.w]

Your channel is amazing and so very helpful and beneficial. Thank you for uploading it on this platform.

[candidopereira]

Hey there!
Excellent explanation, so many subtle details. I learned a ton. 🇧🇷(Brazil)

[rozy]

Awesome. I'm addicted to watch your video. it's been 2 years since you didn't release a new video. I've almost watch all your video.

[pedroguevara]

I have been impressed by all this work that you have done.

[tranthuthuy]

This video really comes in handy for my speaking test. Thanks so