Alveolar fricatives

Alveolar fricatives are produced by the blade of the tongue forming a closure along the sides of the mouth and opening a narrow groove in the middle. The air escapes through the groove making a hissing sound. The tip of the tongue is generally behind the lower teeth. The Fortis variant /s/ is never voiced, and the Lenis /z/ is devoiced when not surrounded by other voiced sounds. Devoicing therefore regularly occurs in the end position of a word. The lenis variant does not exist in Norwegian and therefore constitutes one of the most serious pronunciation problems for Norwegians.