Speech work consonants /f/, /v/ - JSS2 English language Lesson Note

Nature of Sounds: Both /f/ and /v/ are fricatives, meaning they are produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together.

Production: These sounds are described as labio-dental fricatives, which means that in the production of each of them, we involve the lower lip and teeth.

Voicing: The /f/ sound is a voiceless sound while /v/ is a voiced one.

This means that when you make the /v/ sound you “turn on” your voice.

Examples: Consider the following pair of words contrasting /f/ and /v/:

Life vs Live
Leaf vs Leave
Loaf vs Loaves
File vs Vile
Relief vs Relieve
Belief vs Believe
Ferry vs Very
Fault vs Vault
Face vs Vase
Common Errors:

Errors with the /f/ and /v/ sound can be all over the place. Sometimes children have difficulty with voicing, meaning their /f/ sounds like /v/ or vice versa. Other times, you might hear a substitution, such as using an /s/ or “sh” sound instead of the /f/ sound.