the nineteenth letter of the English alphabet is a consonant and is often called a sibilant in allusion to its hissing sound It has two principal sounds one a mere hissing as in sack this the other a vocal hissing the same as that of z as in is wise Besides these it sometimes has the sounds of sh and zh as in sure measure It generally has its hissing sound at the beginning of words but in the middle and at the end of words its sound is determined by usage In a few words it is silent as in isle deacutebris With the letter h it forms the digraph sh See Guide to pronunciation sectsect 255 261
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