Spirant

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Pronouncing Spirants

To say a spirant correctly, gently push air through a narrow space in your mouth.

When you say 'f' in 'fish', you're pronouncing a voiceless spirant.

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Voicing Differences

Voiceless spirants, like 's', are made without using vocal cords, unlike voiced spirants, like 'z'.

To feel the difference, place a finger on your throat as you alternate between 's' and 'z'.

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Spotting Spirants

Identify spirants in words by looking for letters that create a hissing or buzzing sound.

The 's' in 'snake' and the 'v' in 'van' are both spirants.