This lesson is the about the h sound, (/h/ Phoneme) as in the words:
- have /hæv/
- he /hiː/
- home. /həʊm/
It is a sound from the Single Consonants group.
How to pronounce the h Sound
The /h/ sound is called the “voiceless glottal fricative,” which means that the sound is made with the motion of your vocal chords but is not voiced.
The /h/ sound is made through the mouth and is Aspirated, which means air comes out of your mouth as you say the sound and you do not vibrate your vocal chords but it is defined by the position of your vocal chords, because it is a fricative. Fricatives are sounds which are made by bringing two parts of your mouth or throat very close together and pushing the air through them. In this case, that’s your vocal chords.
The /h/ sound doesn’t have a specific mouth shape as it normally takes the shape from the following sounds.
To produce the /h/ sound, constrict your throat and breathe out through your mouth. The shape of your mouth doesn’t matter as much. It will probably just be whatever shape you’ll be making to make the next sound.
How the h Sound is spelled
The /h/ sound is spelled with the letter ‘h,’ though in a few words it is spelled ‘wh’ as in:
- whole /həʊl/
- who /huː/
- whom /huːm/
Examples of the h Sound
Here are some words that start with /h/.
- how /haʊ/
- human /ˈhjuːmən/
- happen /’hæpən/
- help /help/
Here are some words with the /h/ sound in the middle.
- behind /bɪˈhaɪnd/
- perhaps /pəˈhæps/
- behaviour /bɪˈheɪvjə/
- and ahead /əˈhed/
Words don’t normally end with /h/