pronounciation of r and z, th and d in formal british english?

Question

English is my second language,

according to some dictionaries like the Cambridge and the Collins,
i have learnt that the r sound is pronounced only before a vowel.
here i have an example but i do not know whether it is pronounced, please help by answering how the letter "R"s being quoted is pronounced in British and American English respectively.

1.A. The bus station is five hundred met"r"es away.
B. The bus station is only one met"r"e away.

also, i am confused on how to pronounce the letter "s" in English.
In what case is it pronounced as "z" and when is it pronounced as "s" respectively in British and American English?

as a non- native speaker, i cannot distinguish the difference between the voice between the "th" in the word thirsty and the word "f" in the word five and between the "th" in the word "the" and "d" in the word dog. (except i know the positions of the tongue are varied)
as native speakers, are you always able to feel the difference just by hearing?

Answer 1

If you say "Rangoon" then you will have pronounced the "r" the way English people do before a vowel (in this case an "a")

If the "r" is at the end of a word: "paper" then the "r" is very soft, whispered, "er". A bit like the way we pronounce "Jakarta".

"s" as in Ceylon

"z" Zoo

Z on its own, as in the alphabet, is pronounced as "zed" (rhymes with bed) in England but as "zee" (rhymes with tea) in America.

So we would say: "Ex Why, Zed"

Americans "Ex, Why, Zee"

"th" makes your tongue go slightly between your teeth with a little air blown through
"f" makes your teeth rest on your top lip.with a little air blown through

""th" in "the" the tip of your tongue against your top teeth with a little air blown through.

"d" the same but no air.

Answer 2

These are some of the things that makes English one of the most difficult languages in the world to learn. Being Canadian I spell most words the same way as they do in England.

For the "s" sound, the "s" is not voiced, where the "z" is. The same sound is made with the mouth, but "Z" is voiced. Put your fingers on your voice box. If you say the "s" sound properly you should not hear the vibration when you pronounce it.

Words like "theatre" and "metre" and "centre" are spelled this way because they are derived from the French language. You probably heard that english is a mish mash of German, Celt, French and Latin... In these cases "re" is pronounced as "er". Americans changed the spelling of these words to end in "er".

What probably would blow your mind is that you drop the "e" to make words like "theatrical", "metric", and "central".

"th" is pronounced with the tongue sitting on top of your front teeth, and it can be voiced as in "the", or silent as in "thick". Blow air out of your mouth to pronounce the sound.

"D" is pronounced with the tongue on the roof of your mouth, just behind the front teeth and pulled down sharply.

"F" is pronounced with the bottom lip placed on the top front teeth and air blown between them.

The two words "the" and "dog" do sound completely different to a native speaker no matter where he is from (Australia, Scotland, England, Canada or United States). Most likely you are not pronouncing the "o" and "e" properly. They have very different and distinctive sounds.

Answer 3

'r' = 'are' 'Metre' is really pronounced 'meter' - as the Americans spell it . 'R' is sounded before a consonant - the prime example being 'word'!

's' there is no rule about how this letter is pronounced - there are few rules in English!

'th' and 'd' Yes, as a native English speaker, I can clearly hear the difference between 'th' in thirsty and 'f' in 'five. They are, to my ear, entirely different sounds. In the first word the tongue is placed on the upper teeth, in the second. the upper teeth on the lower jaw. Two totally different sounds.