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Why is PH used instead of f?

Why is PH used instead of f?

3 Answers. “Ph” is most commonly used in words that come from Greek, like “philosophy”. The Greek letter that makes the “F” sound is “phi”, written like φ. As for “Gh”, most of the words containing it come from German and old English.

Why is Phi PH and not f?

Greek Phi was once pronounced as a hard “P” in Ancient Greek. So, Latin inscriptions wrote it as “PH” to show that it’s a P sound, but with more air with H. As Greek changed, so did the Greek based English words. In Modern Greek, Phi is pronounced as “F”, and no longer like “PH”/a hard P.

How did PH become f?

In Classical Greek this was pronounced as an aspirated [pʰ], which the Latins wrote as ph when they borrowed the words from Greek. Later this sound changed into an [f] in both Greek and Latin, and was passed as such into French, and then into English.

Why do British say f instead of th?

TH-fronting The pronunciation of

as a sound in words like thing or as a sound in words like brother is a characteristic feature of London speech spreading across much of South East England and beyond.

Does pH always say f?

Most of the time, PH is pronounced like an F , not as two separate sounds. However, there are exceptions to this rule. You’ll also find out how PH became part of the English language. If you want to sound more like a native speaker, get your pronunciation right.

What is it called when pH sounds like F?

Digraphs ( ph, gh) as in alphabet, laugh. Digraphs consist of two consonants that are blended to make one sound. The digraph (ph) has the sound of (f).

Does PH always say f?

Why does gh make F?

Early scribes had to adapt the Roman alphabet to English, and since Latin didn’t have the /x/ sound, they used “h” or a non-Roman character called a yogh (ȝ). Eventually, during the Middle English period, they settled on “gh.” The sound turned into /f/ or was dropped entirely.

Where do we use F and pH?

The /f/ sound is usually spelled with the letter f, or ff if after a short vowel – this is covered in Unit 4. In some words, the /f/ sound is spelled using the digraph ph. These are often words from the ancient Greek language.

Why can’t I say th?

Well, yes it could be normal that your child cannot produce the /th/ sound, depending on their age. Children acquire speech sounds in a particular order with some being early developing and others being later developing. /th/ is one of those later developing sounds.

Can PH be silent?

Consonants. In most dialects, the letter ⟨h⟩ is almost always silent, except in the digraphs ⟨ch⟩ and ⟨ph⟩.

When to use ” pH ” instead of ” F “?

“Ph” is most commonly used in words that come from Greek, like “philosophy”. The Greek letter that makes the “F” sound is “phi”, written like φ. As for “Gh”, most of the words containing it come from German and old English. It was pronounced then as “ch” is in German today – as a rasp in the back of the throat, like the “ch” in “Loch Ness”.

Why is ph pronounced F in the New Testament?

When the pronunciation of the Greek aspirates changed – in the New Testament Greek period – the change was reflected in Latin, for the reasons listed above: it was “classy” to pronounce the words as they were pronounced in Greek. But the spellings remained the same, so even though “ph” made the “f” sound now, it continued to be spelled “ph”.

Where is the story of Joseph found in the Bible?

All about the famous biblical dreamer who inspired a musical. Joseph: Tzadik or Tattletale? The story of Joseph is found in the Book of Genesis, from Genesis 37 though Genesis 50. Joseph’s saga is both expansive and integral to the overall narrative of the Israelites’ descent into Egypt.

What is the origin of pH being pronounced f?

The digraph “ph” in English and some other languages, represents an f sound. It’s mostly used for words of Greek origin and represents the Greek letter phi ⟨Φ, φ⟩. Originally in Ancient Greek, the letter was not pronounced as an “f”, but as an aspirated “p” – like a “p” sound followed by an “h”. So that’s why it is represented as “ph”.