/z/as in zoo
You likely let the voicing drop out completely at the end of a word and keep the vowel before it short, effectively producing s instead of z.
What you probably do
You likely let the voicing drop out completely at the end of a word and keep the vowel before it short, effectively producing s instead of z. This is natural since Hungarian doesn't lean on vowel duration to mark a consonant's voicing.
How natives do it
Americans keep the buzz going right into the final z and stretch the vowel just before it noticeably longer than they would before s — the tongue position itself never changes.
Why it matters
Because vowel length carries much of the signal, dropping it can turn 'buzz' into 'bus' or 'prize' into 'price' in a listener's ear, which matters especially since z also marks plurals and past tense on many common words.
Hear the difference
Words this touches
Hungarian speakers often substitute /s/.
How the mouth differs
Both languages form z identically, with the same tongue-tip groove as s plus vocal fold vibration. English marks word-final z versus s mainly through a longer preceding vowel and residual voicing; Hungarian speakers, without this positional lengthening habit, commonly devoice the final z fully, merging it with s.
Listen for the pattern
A devoiced final z can make 'buzz' sound like 'bus' or 'prize' like 'price' to American listeners, since the vowel-length cue signaling the underlying voicing is missing.
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Sources (1)
- Wells, J.C. (1982). Accents of English.