How to pronounce the plural forms of nouns which follow the usual pattern of adding <(e)s>. Here is a recipe. It doesn’t work for all nouns, but it does work for an awful lot of them.
First we divide English sounds into three groups. The first is called V+.
V+ = all vowels and b d ɡ v ð m n ŋ l
The second is called V-.
V- = p t k f θ
And the third is called SIBILANT.
SIBILANT = s z ʃ ʒ tʃ dʒ
STEP 1: Add z to the end of the word
STEP 2: If the word now ends in SIBILANT+z, insert ə or ɪ before the z
STEP 3: If the word ends in V- + z, change z → s
STEP 4: Leave the word alone now.
Try it out on these words:
patch safe book bomb bag rope loss bridge mat dish doll spoon bee
The answers: show
2013_07_21