Can you think of any words in which 'ph' is pronounced 'v'?

[RacingSnake]

Just sitting here with DH watching Kingdom (obviously not enough work to do) when he asked why 'ph' is pronounced 'v' in 'Stephen'. I couldn't think of any other examples, nor explain why this one is so. Any ideas?

bloody hell bruceb, of course!
I must have been drunk

Agree on the continuous past, bruceb.

But, Mary, not sure about pronouncing 'phial' with initial 'v' sound? Is this a regional thing, perhaps?

Otherwise we still have only 'Stephen' and his occasional 'nephew'.

(Can see that this is going to distract me almost as much as the 'what's the word for breakfast things?' thread - wasted ages on that one, and still no resolution!)

Some people pronounce Nephew as Nevew!

Could be regional I guess. Its a slightly softer v, but not quite a ph.

Why than do we pronounce Stephanie (Stefanie) as against Stephen(Steven and not Stefen, which I think the latter is the more correct). I found your discussion very interesting and so far you've come the closest by a long shot to giving a reasonable, lets say, opinion on the matter without really getting to the crux of the matter. Can you dig a little deeper using Stephanie and Stephen as examples.

The thread was from 2010.

This comment was meant for you, TULIPS IN THE RAIN however this site is new to me and than with my 67 years I get very lost in the maze of new tech. I am hung up on this dilemma of the ph with the pronunciation of Stephen. It drives me nuts.

pablo2607 Wed 15-Jul-15 22:44:50
Why than do we pronounce Stephanie (Stefanie) as against Stephen(Steven and not Stefen, which I think the latter is the more correct). I found your discussion very interesting and so far you've come the closest by a long shot to giving a reasonable, lets say, opinion on the matter without really getting to the crux of the matter. Can you dig a little deeper using Stephanie and Stephen as examples.