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Vlivef Posted 7 years ago
Speech & Pronunciation

Mastering the phoneme 'wh'...

Hi,

I wonder whether the weather will weather the wether, or whether, etc. [+]

It is probably the best "litmus test" for those learning to pronounce the sound 'wh' correctly?

Unfortunately all my attemps to find (somewhere in the Internet) an audio/video recording with [+] have failed...

Any help (with finding [+]) would be appreciated!

  

Top answer

There are several videos on YouTube illustrating the difference between "w" and "wh" for those who pronounce these differently. For example, this. However, many (I would say most) native speakers (including me) do not have a separate pronunciation for "wh", but instead pronounce it exactly the same as "w".

— GPY

  • There are several videos on YouTube illustrating the difference between "w" and "wh" for those who pronounce these differently.
  • For example, this.
  • However, many (I would say most) native speakers (including me) do not have a separate pronunciation for "wh", but instead pronounce it exactly the same as "w".
  • This depends on region and also on personal variation.
  • Unless you have some special requirement to emulate an English accent in which the difference is recognised, there is no need to try to learn a separate "wh" sound.
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3 Answers
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There are several videos on YouTube illustrating the difference between "w" and "wh" for those who pronounce these differently. For example, this.

However, many (I would say most) native speakers (including me) do not have a separate pronunciation for "wh", but instead pronounce it exactly the same as "w". This depends on region and also on personal variation. Unless you have some specia

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In the US, "weather" and "whether" are pronounced the same: "wether." The "wh" in "whether" is pronounced the same as the "wh" in "why," "when," "while," and "where" - that is, the "h" is ignored and the "w" is pronounced as though it were there by itself.


However, in certain words the "wh" has a different sound. In "white" and "whale" the "wh" is pronounced as though the word

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The "hw" sound is rare in the US, but it does occur. I notice it when I hear it, and I almost never do. It appears to be confined mainly to areas of the South.

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