The final /s/ voiced or voiceless

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angel-girl1

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Hi,

Is there a rule in received pronunciation to know whether the final /s/ of a word is voiced or voiceless?

Thanks.
 

5jj

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Is there a rule in received pronunciation to know whether the final /s/ of a word is voiced or voiceless?
The third person -s and the plural suffix -s are pronounced /s/ when they follow an unvoiced sound and /-z/ when they follow a voiced sound.
 

angel-girl1

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The third person -s and the plural suffix -s are pronounced /s/ when they follow an unvoiced sound and /-z/ when they follow a voiced sound.

What if the final /s/ is preceded by a vowel?
Is it always pronounced as /z/?
 

5jj

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Yes. Vowels are voiced sounds.
 

BobK

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:up: In the terms of the OP, /s/ is always unvoiced. The letter 's' may sometimes be voiced; in that case it's not /s/, it's /z/.

b
 
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