The teeth are brought close together. The passage between the tongue blade and the teeth-ridge is extremely narrow, the soft palate being in its raised position. The consonant /s/ is not voiced, /z/ is voiced.
Try the following pairs of words on, wherever possible, one air intake: said-zed, sea-zee, sip-zip, sipper-zipper, sink-zinc, seal-zeal; ice-eyes, pace-pays, dice-dies, piece-peas, cups-cubs, tax-tags, X-eggs, pats-pads, cats-cads.
The voiced consonants in the final position are difficult to pronounce clearly. The tongue may take the proper position but the sounds may not be voiced. Try to finish the words by holding /z/ longer: cubzzzzz, eggzzzzz, etc. You must take enough air in to produce two voiced sounds and the voiced aspect of /s/. Be sure that you feel and hear the vibration to the very end of the word.
