Have and half

[NamelessKing]

Does have and half sound the same?

 

[Yankee]

It could, depending on accent. In my own use my upper teeth meet with my lower lip for 'have' and the sound of the 'v' is more noticeable. With 'half', my teeth and lip don't meet and there is a push of breath. But regardless of accent, use of either would be understood in context.

 

[emsr2d2]

For native speakers of BrE in the south of England, not at all, no.

Half = harf
Have = hav
Halve = harv

(Sorry, I don't do phonetic symbols.)

 

[GoesStation]

I can't imagine that any native speaker pronounces them the same, regardless of accent. Have ends in a voiced fricative consonant, half in a voiceless one.

Have and halve are the same in American English.

 

[bubbha]

In Standard American English, "half" sounds like "have" only in the phrase "have to".

In "have to" (as in "I have to go now"), "have" is pronounced /hæf/ instead of the usual /hæv/. And in Standard American English, "half" is also pronounced /hæf/.

 

[jutfrank]

And in standard British pronunciation, it's like this:

have /hæv/
half /ha:f/

You can hear the vowels are quite different.

 

[emsr2d2]

"Have to" can certainly sound like "haff to" in spoken BrE. However, "haff" doesn't sound the same as "half" for about 50% of the population of the UK.

 

[jutfrank]

"haff" doesn't sound the same as "half" for about 50% of the population of the UK.

Yes. Including natives of Manchester, where NamelessKing currently resides.

 

[Tdol]

Yes. Including natives of Manchester, where NamelessKing currently resides.

In that case, the NamelessKing would be well advised to be aware that sounds are not universal in English.

 

[NamelessKing]

In that case, the NamelessKing would be well advised to be aware that sounds are not universal in English.

Indeed, they aren't. I watch content mainly in AmE and I don't really pay too much attention to the wide variety of accents in Oxford Road.

 

[emsr2d2]

Even though you might watch content in AmE, you should also take note of the native English accents around you all day.

 

[jutfrank]

So who are you ultimately trying to sound like? An African-American from Los Angeles? Can you name an example of a famous American person whom you want to be like?

 

[NamelessKing]

So who are you ultimately trying to sound like? An African-American from Los Angeles? Can you name an example of a famous American person whom you want to be like?

No, definitely not an African-American. I'd like to sound as someone with a standard American accent, like Conan O'Brien. But developing a native-like accent is a tall order.

 

[Tdol]

Indeed, they aren't. I watch content mainly in AmE and I don't really pay too much attention to the wide variety of accents in Oxford Road.

Sounds are not only not universal across the varieties of Englishes, they are not universal within the varieties- you are interested in AmE pronunciation, but it is far from homogeneous.

BTW, do you mean Oxford Street? '-)

 

[emsr2d2]

I think Oxford Road is correct. According to a previous post, NamelessKing lives in Manchester, not London.