Language

Spotting a Common Sound Shift 🕵️‍♂️ Have you ever noticed how the Gujarati letter ફ (pha) is often pronounced? Increasingly, especially among younger generations or those more exposed to English, I hear it sounding like “fa” – a sound typically made by touching the lower lip to the upper teeth (a labiodental fricative, like the ‘f’ in “fish”). But wait… does Gujarati even have a native “fa” sound or a letter for it? The answer is no! The traditional Gujarati ફ is an aspirated ‘p’ sound, phonetically /pʰ/ . It’s made by bringing both lips together (bilabial), just like for પ (pa), but with an added puff of air, just like how you add a puff of air after saying “બ ba” to produce “ભ bha”. ...

Why Gujarati Sounds Make Sense 🎶 Ever been puzzled by English spelling? Like why “through,” “though,” and “tough” sound so different? Many languages have spellings that don’t quite match their sounds. Good news! Gujarati, rooted in the Sanskrit tradition, is highly phonetic. This means: what you see is what you say, and what you say is what you write. Each letter (અક્ષર - Akshar) usually has one consistent sound. This makes learning to read and pronounce Gujarati much easier once you get the hang of it. ...