March 27th, 2008

How to make a clear distinction between the two sounds [v] and [w].

To make the [v] sound put your upper teeth lightly on your lower lip, leaving a small space in the middle. When you voice the [v] sound, the air passes through the narrow gap between the lower lip and upper teeth. You should hear and feel a vibration as the air goes through. The sound should be the same as that used in ‘love’, ‘drive’, ‘have’

To make the [w] sound push your lips forward, forming a round opening in the centre, similar to when you say the [u] vowel in ‘you’. The opening is larger than in that used for the [v] sound. As you voice the [w] sound, drop your tongue and let the air passes easily through the opening. In contrast with the [v] sound, you shouldn’t hear or feel any vibration as air passes through the opening. The sound should be the same as that used in ‘was’, ‘went’, ‘how’.

Practice the difference between word pairs like these:

veil whale

vein wane

vest west

vent went

Now practice these sentences:

Vienna is the capital of Austria.

Victor wants to be a Viking.

Wendy’s van is very wide.

Walter walked through the valley on Wednesday.

Warren drives a VW.