Hello! I’m John Russell.
Today, let’s explore one of the common issues that Spanish speakers face when pronouncing words in English. They often have difficult with the difference between the /b/ and /v/ sounds of English.
Although the letter ‘v’ is used in writing in Spanish, the sound /v/ does not exist. Instead, Spanish speakers use the /b/ sound.
The result is that English words such as “very” sound more like “berry” - yes, the fruit.
The central difference between the two sounds is in the lip placement.
The /b/ sound requires both of your lips to meet.
/b/
While the /v/ sound requires the upper teeth and lower lip to meet, like this:
/v/
If you have trouble with the /v/ sound, think of your teeth as blocking a collision. Your upper teeth shoot out to meet your lower lip. This keeps your lower lip away from your upper lip.
You can start by practicing with words that are similar to each other. For example, take words such as
Boat vote
Very berry
Film yourself pronouncing the two words and make careful note of your lip placement. Be sure to listen to yourself too! With time, your lips and teeth will do exactly what you want them to …. and your /b/ and /v/ sounds will be much clearer!
That’s all for today! Keep up the good work.
Originally published at - [ Ссылка ]
