Hello there!
This is the "Sounds American" channel.
In this video,
we're going to talk about the American consonant sound /f/,
as in the word "fun."
You can also hear this sound in words like
"fine" - "phone" - "coffee" or "laugh."
We'll be using a special phonetic symbol - /f/ - for this sound.
Let's begin with some phonology.
Don't worry, it won't be too complicated.
If you've followed us this far, there's been worse.
The /f/ belongs to a category of consonant sounds called the fricatives.
This is the largest group of consonants in American English:
it consists of nine different sounds!
Take a look:
So, why are they called the fricative consonants?
All these sounds are made by partially blocking the air
moving through your mouth which creates an audible friction.
Speaking about the /f/ consonant,
this sound is made by partially blocking the air
with your lower lip and your upper teeth.
Many non-native English speakers are familiar with the /f/ sound
and consider it to be easy to pronounce.
Indeed,
it's not the hardest consonant to make,
but there are some things to watch out for.
First,
this sound is not always represented by the letter 'f'
and this can sometimes be a problem.
Second,
similar sounds exist in many languages,
and some non-native speakers
use their native /f/ consonant when they speak English.
Third, and most importantly,
Americans pronounce their /f/ with lots of friction.
Let's find out how they do it.
To make the /f/ sound correctly,
focus on the position of your lips and teeth.
First,
lightly bite your lower lip.
Make sure you do it gently
and leave a tiny gap between your lip and your teeth.
Now,
release a stream of air through that gap,
creating lots of friction.
The air should flow over your lip.
Remember, the /f/ is a continuous sound,
so you should be able to stretch it out,
like this:
Now, let's try saying it:
Here are a few typical mistakes that people make
when pronouncing this sound.
The most common problem is
that many non-native speakers pronounce this sound without enough friction.
Why does this happen?
Most often
people try to produce the friction using only their lips,
since this is how they do it in their languages.
This way the passage for the airstream is too wide
and there's no obstacle to create sufficient friction.
Compare:
Some people involuntarily stop the air
when making the /f/ sound.
This is good for making stop sounds,
but the /f/ is not one of them.
The /f/ is a continuous sound,
so you should be able to stretch it out.
Compare:
See how this changes the meanings of the words?
Make sure to lightly bite your lower lip with your teeth
and release a stream of air between them.
producing a strong continuous sound.
Don't forget about the vowel length rule!
The /f/ is a voiceless consonant,
so the vowel sounds before the /f/
are typically shorter than they are before its voiced counterpart,
the /v/ consonant.
Compare:
We talked about the Vowel Length rule in detail in one of our previous videos.
Check the link in the Description below.
OK,
enough of theory, it's time to practice.
Because practice is what our videos are for!
This is how it works.
You'll see a word on the screen and hear its pronunciation.
Like this:
You'll have a few seconds to pronounce the word.
♪
Try to practice as many words as possible,
this is the most important part of the whole lesson.
Let's start with the /f/ at the beginning of words.
Le't pause for a second
and review how you're making the /f/ sound.
Make sure you gently bite your lower lip.
Don't overdo it, though, or you'll hurt yourself!.:)
Now we'll practice making this sound in the middle of words.
Let's continue practicing.
Great job!
Now let's practice pronouncing words with the /f/ sound at the end.
Don't forget that this is a continuous sound
and you have to make the vowel before it short.
Let's do it.
You're done!
Congratulations!
Did you know that the /f/ sound is not always represented by the letter 'f'?
Yes,
it's written as the letter 'f'
or two letters 'f'
91% of the time.
In the remaining 9% of words with this sound
it's written with the 'ph' combination,
as in "phone,"
and with the 'gh' combination,
as in "cough" or "tough."
Remarkable, right?
By the way,
we still LIKE your comments.
How can we not?
Here's an awesome one:
One of our subscribers with a nickname Quartz 2 asked,
Is there a difference in pronunciation
between the phrases "teacher's books" and "teachers' books"?
This is a great question!
First,
please, note that even though you see the letter 's' at the end of both words,
you actually need to pronounce the /z/ sound.
There's a rule for this and we'll cover it in our future videos.
Now, the word "teacher" is singular in the first phrase and plural in the second.
Both are in their possessive forms.
So they differ in grammar, but sound absolutely the same.
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