word usage - Is "of" pronounced as "ov"?


Few years back, one of our English teachers told that,



In India, we [typically] pronounce "of" as "of" or "off". But the real pronunciation is "ov".



When I try to listen the same in Google dictionary, it indeed sounds like "ov" :-). But I am not sure, if I am listening it correctly.


Since my native language is not English, can someone suggest what is the right pronunciation?
If it's really "ov" then it would be interesting to know, why is it so?


It has also been mentioned that this word has different vowels according to its environment. Is this true?



Answer



British English


The word of has a strong form, /ɒv/. This has the same vowel we hear in the word lot, /lɒt/. This form of the word ends with a 'v' sound.


We use the strong form of of when it is stressed and also when it occurs with out a following complement. So in the phrase What are you thinking of?, there is no noun phrase following the word of, and we will hear the strong form used.


However, when the word of is not stressed and does have a following complement (usually a noun phrase), native speakers will use a weak form of the word. In such a case, the word might be realised as any of the following:



So the phrase lots of people may be realised as any of the following:



  • lɒts əv pi:pl

  • lɒts v pi:pl

  • lɒts ə pi:pl


American Englishes


In some varieties of American English, the strong form of the word of uses the vowel /ʌ/. This is the vowel we find in the word strut. Some dictionaries give both pronunciations /ʌv/ and /ɑv/



I've used a British English transcription here, but nothing much hinges on that.


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