as in <VEAL>, as in <WHEEL> Listen

Norwegian learners' problems. Listen: The /v/-sound is one of the most difficult sounds for Norwegians. That might seem strange, because we have a "v"-sound in Norwegian as well. However, our "v"-sound is more lax, and is normally transcribed differently. Besides, Norwegians tend to mix /w/ and /v/, thereby ending up with a sound which is clearly different from both. The /v/-sound is a voiced version of /f/, which is a sound we know. It is therefore wise to use that as a starting point. Remember to make the /v/-sound sharp and clear ("bite your lower lip"), and to make your lips round and hard for the /w/, which is a very different sound.

Listen and practise:

------- ------
feel ------ veal ------ wheel
fine ------ vine ------ wine
fail ------- veil ------ whale
--------- verse ------ worse
---------- via -------- wire
--------- vest -------- west
----------- V --------- we
---------- vet --------- wet
---------- vile -------- while
---------- vent ------- went

Vera and I saw some very wild Vikings down in the village. It was early November and we had been driving all the way up from Vauxhall. We enjoyed watching the red and brown leaves on the trees. We arrived just before Victor and Wendy. The village was ideal for the Viking festival. It was situated in a very picturesque valley. Many visitors had arrived already. The people living in the village were not so pleased perhaps. We saw five of them quarrelling with some of the visitors. Many people had dressed up vividly as Vikings. When we arrived at seven in the evening, we saw Victor and Wendy coming down the road in their yellow van. They had brought Vanessa with them. It was a lovely evening and the view was fantastic.

SPELLING BOX: : <v> (exception: of) van : <w>, <u>+VOWEL wind, quiet, language