V and B.

Question

Hi, thanks in advance. I´m a native spanish speaker (I'm mexican) and in spanish, specially in my country, there's not a difference between the sound of v and b, but I know that in english there is a difference in the sound. My question is: In daily spoken english do you really pronounce differently b and v, and would you be able to differentiate these two sounds during a conversation?

Thanks again.

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

In my case, yes and yes.

CalifJim · Answer

Yes. Definitely. We know the difference between a vase and a base. We know the difference between going to the lab and going to the lav. We know the difference between a marble and a marvel. We know the difference between vowels and bowels. We know the difference between Vern and burn, between versed and burst, between covered and cupboard, between rebel and revel, ...

Hold your upper lip up away from your upper teeth with a pencil held horizontally across your teeth. Say "v" while holding your lower lip between your teeth the way you do when you say "f". If you try to pull your lips together the pencil will be in your way and you'll know you are doing it wrong! There is no "v" sound in Spanish, so don't expect to produce a familiar sound in this exercise. You should hear an unfamiliar sound not used in Spanish. Remember it's like "f".

CJ

V and B.

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