Pronunciation: Vhat do you vant?

Student: "Vhat do you vant?"
Teacher: "Do you mean, "What do you want?"

This student has problems with the consonant sound, /w/ and is using the /v/ sound. Luckily, consonant sounds are easy to correct. What's wrong?


What's the difference in the two sounds?

Let's start with the word, vet. A vet is short for veterinarian or animal doctor. Say vet. Where are your teeth when you start the word? Your top teeth should touch your bottom lip. That's how you make the /v/ sound.

Now, try the word, wet. If you go out in the rain, you will get wet. Say wet.

1. Where are your teeth when you start the word? To make the sound /w/, your teeth are inside your mouth.

2. What is the shape of your mouth? It should be round.

Do you understand how to make the sounds?

For a mental image, think of a rabbit when you pronounce /v/. When you do a /w/, think of blowing a kiss or you just ate a lemon. For a /w/ your lips are round and protruding. Watch the woman's mouth in this short video, V and W.



What languages have problems with the /w/?

Arabic, Cambodian, Chinese, European languages such as Czech, German, Polish and Russian, Persian, Thai and Vietnamese.

How do I get better?

If you have this problem you must practise it. Exercise your mouth until it can form the sound correctly. Remember no teeth. Practise word and phrase exercises. When you speak, you will sometimes get it wrong because your 'mouth' will remember wrong. Keep correcting yourself and your mouth will form the correct shape over time.

Practice these words and sentences.

Practise Words.

wig.....wet.....want.....was.....walk......wire.....
awake.....sidewalk.....sandwich.....skyway.....reward.....freeway...........

Now, practice these word pairs.

watch notch..........week seek..........wet vet..........west best..........
wake rake..........west rest.......... wipe ripe..........wing ring..........

Try a sentence.

The women advised the visitor to walk on the sidewalk.

Try another sentence.

The vet wiped the very wet dog with a white cloth.

Final sentence.

We were invited to watch the television war movie.


Return to this post another day and repeat the exercises. In fact, repetition is the key to learning, so practise, practise and practise.




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