Lesson 7

How to say it - /f/ & /v/ sounds

Introduction to /f/

Click here to hear this sound. The sound of the /f/ alone is very difficult to record, so this program has //, which is a sound for the word 'for' when it is an unstressed or weak form. 'For' is usually pronounced like this. /f/ is an unvoiced sound, its voiced version is /v/

To say the /f/ sound, put your top teeth on the outside or inside of your lower lip (the animation on the next page shows the teeth on the outside of the lower lip, inside or outside doesn't matter, the sound will still be the same, but the outside is easier to see), and blow air through your lips, which should be a little bit open.

The /f/ sound is sometimes spelt 'ph' e.g in 'phone' /fəʊn/, sometimes 'gh'; eg. in 'laugh' /lɑːf/ and sometimes 'f' eg. in 'fan' /fæn/.


Introduction to /v/

The sound here is the sound of word 'oven' because /v/ is also very hard to record.

To say the /v/ sound, put your top teeth on the outside or inside of your lower lip, the same as for /f/. (The animation on the next page shows the teeth on the outside of the lower lip, inside or outside doesn't matter, the sound will still be the same, but the outside is easier to see), and blow air through your lips, which should be a little bit open. The difference from /f/ is that this time you use your voice.

An oven is a thing for cooking in.

The difference between an oven and a cooker is that a cooker might not have this part for baking and roasting.




Video of Mouth

Follow the instructions as they appear in the video.

/f/ sound

 

/v/ sound



Pronunciation Tips

/f/ & /v/ sounds