Learn English – the correct pronunciation of the word “Islam”
pronunciation
Some people pronounce the S in Islam as Z, and others pronounce it as S.
Which is correct?
Best Answer
Looking at the other answers, I would like to intervene. Whatever the correct pronunciation in Arabic is, we are talking about English here. Merriam-Webster lists quite a few variations:
\is-ˈläm, iz-, -ˈlam, ˈis-ˌ, ˈiz-ˌ\
It also provides two audio recordings, one for /ɪsˈlɑːm/ and one for /ɪzˈlæm/.
Again, with all due respect to other languages, we just don't pronounce matador the way it is pronounced in Spanish, sputnik the way it is pronounced in Russian, or kindergarten the way it is pronounced in German.
In rapid speech particularly, consonants in clusters such as /sts/ are frequently lost in a process known to phoneticians as ‘elision’. Similarly, ‘next’ will occur as /neks/ and ‘acts’ as /aks/. It’s not so much a matter of bad pronunciation as a recognized feature of speech which most of us will display at one time or another.
Best Answer
Looking at the other answers, I would like to intervene. Whatever the correct pronunciation in Arabic is, we are talking about English here. Merriam-Webster lists quite a few variations:
It also provides two audio recordings, one for /ɪsˈlɑːm/ and one for /ɪzˈlæm/.
The Wiktionary says:
Again, with all due respect to other languages, we just don't pronounce matador the way it is pronounced in Spanish, sputnik the way it is pronounced in Russian, or kindergarten the way it is pronounced in German.