The pronunciation of V and F (2024)

ES, S'je, Saartje, of EetSmakelijk

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Hallo Eet Smakelijk,

The 'traditional' way of pronouncing the v in Dutch is like English, though there is a strong tendency to pronounce it more and more like f. If this f is too obvious, it is considered substandard pronunciation (broad city dialect), but it's a sure thing that formerly the pronunciation difference between v and f was more clear. This concerns in particular a v at the beginning of a word.

Besides, there are hardly any words in which v and f in first position make a difference in meaning. Maybe 'vier' ('four) and 'fier' ('proud') are the only ones which are still used, and also in that case it's hard to expect any misinterpretation. I could think of some more pairs, but they'd contain just obsolete words.

Groetjes,
Wim

ES, S'je, Saartje, of EetSmakelijk

Mijn Esnips account is:
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I believe this is correct:

F in Dutch is pronounced like the English ‘F’
V in Dutch may be pronounced like the English ‘V’ or ‘F’
W in Dutch is pronounced like the English ‘V’

Thanks.

Stormbringer wrote:I believe this is correct:

F in Dutch is pronounced like the english ‘F’
V in Dutch may be pronounced like the english ‘V’ or ‘F’
W in Dutch is pronounced like the english ‘V’

Thanks.

I don't see how the W in Dutch is different from the English W... other than that, yeah, I guess?

Quetzal wrote:I don't see how the W in Dutch is different from the English W... other than that, yeah, I guess?

Doesn't the Dutch W sound a little bit like a V?
I think whenever the Dutch say W, it sounds almost like a V...
In Flanders it does sound like a "standard" W though.
Could you tell me whether I'm wrong?

Yes, you're right.
The Dutch 'w' is somewhere between the English v and w.
The Flemish (and even more the Surinam) 'w' is more like the English one.
But an English 'w' is also understood as being a 'w' in the Netherlands.

Joke

Quetzal wrote:

Stormbringer wrote:I believe this is correct:

F in Dutch is pronounced like the english ‘F’
V in Dutch may be pronounced like the english ‘V’ or ‘F’
W in Dutch is pronounced like the english ‘V’

Thanks.

I don't see how the W in Dutch is different from the English W... other than that, yeah, I guess?

The English W is different from the English W. The English W sounds 'rounder' (like the stereotype 'weet je wel' in a Surinam accent).
When pronouncing the W in English you make your mouth as narrow as possible, while the W in Dutch doesn't require your mouth to narrow at all (it's totally relaxed). That's why English speakers have difficulty hearing the difference between the Dutch V and the Dutch W. Both sounds are produced by relaxed lips. The difference is that with a V (both in English and in Dutch), you use your front teeth, while the W isn't dental at all. So the Dutch W isn't the same as the English V. It's just a W without narrowing your mouth.

EetSmakelijk wrote:Een vraagje...
I have one Dutch friend who pronounces the letter v like f, and another one who pronounces v like English v. Which is correct or are they both right?
Groetjes,

Ah, this has something to do with dialect. In the west of The Netherlands (Amsterdam), v (in standard Dutch /v/) is usually pronounced as /f/, z (in standard Dutch /z/) is usually pronounced as /s/, and g (in standard Dutch /ɣ/) is usually pronounced as /x/.

Especially in the Southern provinces of The Netherlands and Flanders g is pronounced /ɣ/ whereas the areas to the North they pronounce it /x/.
Edit: on second thought: in the South we pronounce 'ch' as /x/ and 'g' as /ɣ/. In The Netherlands /ɣ/ is known as "de zachte g", the soft g. In the West a much more fricative type of sound is made like /ʁ/ or maybe even /X/. This we call "de harde g", the hard g.