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Z phoneme /z/
Phoneme /z/ is a consonant phoneme that’s one of the standard English phonemes.[1]
Naming[edit | edit source]
Naming this phoneme, like other consonant phonemes, is somewhat difficult. It could be called the Z phoneme after the letter Z, or zuh after its sound when initial, or zzz after its sound when lengthened.
Classification[edit | edit source]
This can be classified as Consonant phoneme > Fricative phoneme > Sibilant phoneme.
Representation[edit | edit source]
In phonemic notation using the International Phonetic Alphabet, the Z phoneme is represented by lowercase Z, ⟨z⟩ as its IPA symbol. This has the IPA number 133. In SAMPA and X-SAMPA, z is also used. In IPA Braille, ⠵ (125) is used, which is also used for letter Z in standard Braille.
Phonotactics[edit | edit source]
This forms several final consonant clusters, including:
- Final consonant cluster /bz/
- Final consonant cluster /dz/
- Final consonant cluster /gz/
- Final consonant cluster /mz/
- Final consonant cluster /ndz/
- Final consonant cluster /nz/
- Final consonant cluster /vz/
- Final consonant cluster /ðz/
- Final consonant cluster /ŋz/
Pronunciation[edit | edit source]
This one’s reliably pronounced as the voiced alveolar sibilant [z].
Spelling[edit | edit source]
Spelling is ⟨z⟩, ⟨zz⟩, or ⟨s⟩ and ⟨se⟩. Sometimes ⟨ts⟩ tsar, or ⟨cz⟩ czar.
⟨x⟩ in xylophone, xenon.
