Hi there this is the ʃ sound. As in the words:
- she /ʆiː/
- should /ʆəd/
- short /ʆəʊ/
The ʃ sound is from the ‘Consonants Pairs’ group and it is called the ‘Voiceless palato-alveolar sibilant’. This means that you create friction through clenched teeth by directing air flow through a narrow channel formed along the middle of the tongue.
How to pronounce the ʃ sound
The ʃ sound is made through the mouth and it is Unvoiced which means that you don’t use your vocal chords to make the sound.
It is defined by shape of your tongue and the position of your teeth and it is a Sibilant, which is a sound made by directing a stream of air with the tongue towards the sharp edge of the teeth, In this case .
To produce the sound Clench your teeth together lightly and pull your tongue away from them. Then push air though them.
How the ʃ sound is Spelled
The /ʃ/ phoneme is normally spelled with the letter ‘sh’ as in the words but can also be spelled with the letters ‘ti’ or ‘ci’ as in the words:
- Show /ʆəʊ/
- push /pʊʆ/
- national /ˈnæʆənəl/
- official /əˈfɪʆəl/
Examples of the ʃ sound
Here are some words that begin with the/ʃ/ phoneme:
- sure /ʆɔː/
- shoulder /ˈʆəʊldə/
- shot /ʆɒt/
- shake /ʆeɪk/
Here are some words with the/ʃ/ phoneme in the middle:
- information /ɪnfəˈmeɪʆən/
- social /ˈsəʊʆəl/
- education /edjʊˈkeɪʆən/
- nation /ˈneɪʆən/
Here are some words with the/ʃ/ phoneme at the end:
- finish /ˈfɪnɪʆ/
- wish /wɪʆ/
- push /pʊʆ/
So, that’s it for the /ʃ/ phoneme.