11. Letter X and combination xh

The letter X and the combination XH represent the sounds [ks]: exercise, expect, experiment, explain, extreme, exhibition.

The letter X and the combination XH also represent the sounds [gz]: example, execute, exempt, exert, exist, exhaust, exhibit, exhilarate.

Some of the words with X or XH have two variants of pronunciation: exile ['egzail] / ['eksail], exhale [eks'heil] / [ig'zeil], exhume [ig'zu:m] / [eks'hyu:m].

Note that in some words there is C after EX: exceed, excellent, except, excite, excuse, Excalibur, excavate. In such cases, the pronunciation follows the rules of C before vowels: [ks]: exceed, excellent, except, excite; [ks+k]: excavate, Excalibur, excuse.

Also, in some words of Greek origin, the letter X is pronouned as [z]: xenon ['zenon] / ['zi:non], xenophobia, Xerox ['zi:roks], xylophone.

12. Letter z

The sound [z] is often represented by the consonant S in writing: rose [rouz], wise, was, always, his, present, resist, music, poison, reason, busy, clumsy, organism, realism, advertise, advise, comprise, raise, surprise.

But the letter S is never pronounced [z] at the beginning of the word, so when you hear [z] as the first sound of the word, you can be practically sure that this word is spelled with initial Z.

Examples where Z has the sound [z]: zebra, zeal, zenith, zero, Zeus, zinc, zip, zipper, zombie, zone, zoo; dozen, citizen, horizon, razor, enzyme, ozone, plaza, lazy, crazy, quiz; seize, organize, realize, apologize, modernize.

Double Z is also pronounced [z]: drizzle, sizzle, puzzle, mezzanine; buzz, jazz, fuzzy.

The letters Z and ZZ are pronouned [ts] in some words of foreign origin: pizza, mezzo ['metsou] / ['mezou], Mozart ['moutsa:rt], mozzarella, Nazi ['na:tsi:].

In several foreign borrowings the sound [ts] is represented by TZ: waltz, chintz, blitz, blitzkrieg, Fitzgerald.

13. Sound [y] as in yes

The consonant sound [y] (a semivowel) is represented by the letter Y before a vowel, mostly at the beginning of the word: yacht, Yale, Yankee, yarn, yard, yawn, year, yearn, yeast, yell, yellow, yelp, Yemen, yen, yes, yesterday, yet, yield, yoga, yogurt, yoke, yolk, New York, you, young, Yukon, yule; beyond, canyon, Tanya, Tonya.

The sound [y] is also represented by the vowel I in certain positions in the word after a consonant before another vowel: billiards, billion, familiar, milliard, million, onion, junior, senior, union.

In a number of cases, the sound [y] is not represented by any letter in writing, for example, in the case of the vowel U when it is pronounced [yu:]: use [yu:z], unit ['yu:nit], cube [kyu:b], music, human, few, fuel, feudal, view.

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