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English (and Linguistics?)?
Hi, I'm wondering if anyone knows the technical term for words having the "S" sound like "slither," "see," "silence," etc. I'm also wondering if this term applies to words with the "S" sound in the middle of the word, like "voicelessness," and "lace" (even though it has a "C"). Thanks!
1 Answer
- Anonymous1 decade agoFavorite Answer
An 's' sound is a voiceless alveolar fricative. I don't think there's a technical word for words having that sound in them... Also it doesn't matter how the word is written, whether it's written with a c or an s it's still the same sound.
Voiceless=vocal folds don't vibrate
alveolar refers to the place of articulation
fricative means the sound is created by forcing air through a narrow space (here the space between the tongue and the superior alveolar ridge)
Does that help?