THE CONSONANT "Z"

/z/

MIDDLE ENGLISH THROUGH PRESENT-DAY ENGLISH

SOURCE: OE /s/ , medially in the vicinity of voiced phonemes

Voiced alveloar fricative

The consonant /z/ has been stable from ME through PDE.

CONSONANT
ME /z/
EME /z/
PDE /z/
SPELLING
s, z, zz, 3
s, z, zz
s, z, zz
EXAMPLE
rise
rise
rise

SOUND

CHANGES AFFECTING /z/

EME /z/

Assibilation