Can you identify the sets of sounds that regularly precede each of these alternative pronunciations of the plural ending? What features do each of these sets have in common?

Question

The use of plural -s in English has three different, but very regular, phonological alternatives. We add /s/ to words like bat, book, cough and ship. We add /z/ to words like cab, cave, lad, rag and thing. We add /əz/ to words like bus, bush, church, judge and maze.

Please help I'm so confused!

Answer 1

A basic explanation for your question is that the plural /s/ is added to words that end in a voiceless consonant. In your list of examples, /t/, /k/, /f/, /p/ are all voiceless and therefore is followed by a similar voiceless consonant /s/ to indicate plural meaning.

/z/ follows nouns which end in voiced consonants. /b/, /v/, /d/, /g/, /ŋ/ are all voiced consonants and therefore are followed by voiced consonant /z/ to indicate plural meaning.

An exception to this basic rule of voiceless followed by voiceless and voiced followed by voiced is the plural form followed by /əz/. Basically words that end in the consonants /tʃ/, /dʒ/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/ will always be followed by /əz/. Additionally, words that end in alveolar fricatives /s/ and /z/ will be followed by /əz/ because there needs to be the presence of the schwa to distinguish singular and plural. Imagine having to elongate the /s/ sound in /bus/ to indicate pluralism. It would be disrupted to the natural flow of speech.