THE LETTER S

We must think about the letter S at the beginning of any course of English lessons because it is extremely important.

The letter S is probably the most necessary letter in the English language apart from the vowels.

It must always be pronounced strongly and there are VERY few words in which the letter ‘s’ is silent (has no sound). The only words I know in which the ‘s’ is silent are:

island  (ailand) (all are ‘ai’ of Mumbai)

isle  (ail)

aisle  (ail)

lisle  (lail)

precis  (presi  ee of Leeds or Sri Lanka)

debris  (debri)      "              "

corps (kor – o de Tokyo)

This demonstrates that these are very few exceptions in the entire English language.

In correct English pronunciation we always try to copy the French pronunciation of words imported from the French. This is why we pronounce the ‘e’ at the end of some words. Please see The Letter E.

Many words from French end is S and this S is silent in English also, because we copy the French pronunciation: for example, précis and debris as shown above and Mardi Gras. There are other examples.

All you really need to know is that the letter S sounds strongly wherever it appears. You should exaggerate it to reach the required sound. It is very difficult to exaggerate the sound ‘ssss’ in English

You need to have faith in this sound – it will make your speech clear and add elegance.

The correct use of the single letter ‘s’ in English pronunciation can improve your spoken English by 5% to 10% - in an hour or so. It really is that important!

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