The sound /ʒ/ is best described as which type of sound?

• A. Palato-alveolar fricative (voiced)
• B. Bilabial Plosive
• C. Velar Fricative
• D. Glottal Stop

Answer: (A)

The sound /ʒ/ is a voiced palato-alveolar (also called postalveolar) fricative. It’s made by raising the tongue blade toward the hard palate just behind the alveolar ridge, creating a narrow groove through which air passes. That constriction causes continuous turbulence in the airstream, producing the characteristic fricative noise, and the vocal cords vibrate to give it voice. This is different from a bilabial plosive, which involves a full closure at the lips and a burst of air when released; from a velar fricative, which is produced further back toward the soft palate; and from a glottal stop, which is a brief closure at the vocal folds with little or no frication. An everyday example lives in words like measure or beige, where you hear the voiced buzzing quality.