45
Pronunciation and spelling of Z and S
Textbook: pp. 88–89
GoalKnow the pronunciation and spelling rules of Z and S.
New words
little girl · qizchaminority · ozchilikvoiced · jaranglimain · asosiy
Explanation
Z is a voiced consonant, and s is its unvoiced pair. At the beginning of a word and between vowels z is heard clearly: zamin (earth), quzi (lamb). But when z comes before an unvoiced consonant or at the end of a word, it often sounds like s: qizcha (little girl) — «qischa», yuzta (a hundred) — «yusta», muz (ice) — «mus». Even so, z is written in these words, because the stem does not change: qiz, yuz, muz. S is a very frequent sound and can stand at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of a word: sabzi (carrot), asosiy (main), kitobsiz (without a book).
Worked examples
Qizcha sounds like «qischa» but is written with z, because its stem is qiz.
So‘zsiz (without a word), ozchilik (minority) — z is kept even before an unvoiced consonant.
Class activity
Word game in pairs: one says a word ending in z (qiz, yuz, so‘z), the other adds -cha, -ta or -siz and explains how the z sounds and how it is written.
Practice
1
Is «so‘zsiz» written with z or s?
With z: so‘z + -siz.
2
How does z sound in «qizcha», and why is z written?
It sounds like s, but z is written because the stem is «qiz».
3
When does z lean to s?
Before an unvoiced consonant or at the end of a word.
4
Fill in z or s: o...chilik, a...osiy.
Ozchilik, asosiy.