LISTEN

/h/…/h/…/h/…/h/

help…hand…ahead…reheat

WHAT IS IT?

Pronunciation:
The sound /h/ is a voiceless, glottal, fricative consonant:

• ​Your tongue doesn’t need to touch any part of your mouth
• Breathe out sharply. A short burst of air should come out of your mouth, leading into the next sound.
• Your vocal cords should not vibrate.

Spelling:

• /h/ – help, ahead
• /wh/ – who, whole

Note: The letter “h” is the most common spelling of /h/. However, the letter “h” can also be silent (as in “hour”) or can combine with another letter to indicate another sound. (For example, “sh”  = /ʃ/, “th” = /θ/ or /ð/)
​
​Grammar Tip: 
The sound /h/ is in several English pronouns:

• he, him, her
• his, hers
• himself, herself.

In informal American English speech, it is common to drop the /h/ from these pronouns. Listen to the difference:

1. Formal: I met her.  2. Formal. Where did he go?  3. Formal: He forgot his bag.

Informal: I met ‘er. ​Informal: Where did ‘e go?​ Informal: ‘E forgot ‘is bag.

COMPARE

Compare /h/ with /k/.

/h/…/k/…/h/…/k/…/h/…/k/

These are both voiceless consonants pronounced in the back of the mouth.  However, /h/ is a glottal fricative and /k/ is a velar stop . The sound /k/ is pronounced with the back of your tongue, while /h/ is pronounced with the glottis, which is behind your tongue.

You can hear the difference between /h/ and /k/ in these words.

1. ​A. height, B. kite
2. A. hill, B. kill
3. A. hand, B. canned
4. A. how, B. cow
​5. A. heap, B. keep
​6. A. hole, B. coal 

Practice recognizing words with /h/ and /k/ by taking the quiz here (external site).

Now, compare /h/ and /w/.

/h/…/w/…/h/…/w/…/h/…/w/

These are both consonants without friction – no part of your tongue should touch a part of your mouth. However, /h/ is a voiceless glottal fricative and /w/ is a voiced labio-velar approximant. When you pronounce /h/, your lips should be in a neutral, unrounded position, but when you start to pronounce /w/, your lips should be round.

You can hear the difference between /h/ and /w/ in these words.

1. A. high, B. why
2. A. hot, B. watt
3. A. who, B. woo
​4. A. hitch, B. which
5. A. hair, B. wear
6. A. hurry, B. worry

Practice recognizing words with /h/ and /w/ by taking the quiz here (external site).

PRACTICE

Listen and repeat these words:

Now, practice /h/ in sentences. Say the words first, then the sentences.

1. hear – him – help
Did you hear him ask for help?
2. have – hurry – h​ome
We have to hurry home.
3. house – behind – hill
My house is just behind that hill.
4. he – hurt – himself – hockey
He hurt himself by playing hockey.
5. hope – happy – how
I hope you’re happy with how your English is improving.
6. perhaps – husband – her
​Perhaps her husband is with her.

To practice with different varieties of English, choose another native English speaker by clicking one of the links below:

Male – US Midwest (St. Louis)

Male – US Midwest (Iowa)

Male – US Midwest

Female – US Northeast

Female – US Southeast

Prepare:
If you see a homeless man on the street, and he asks for help, what will you do?

• Hide your wallet
• Help him find housing
• Hand him money
• Ask him how he became homeless
• Hear his story
• Call for help
• Have lunch with him

Record:
In your recording, explain how you think people should respond to a homeless person, and why.

©2024, Christine Wingate

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.