Weird thought that just hit me

[xiphias]

Do you think that the fact that "ph" in English says "f" is related to the fact that, in Hebrew, "pay" and "fay" are the same letter? Like, is there some Phonecian letter that makes both sounds, from which both sets of letters derive?

Comments

[kiya]

Probably related.

I think most if not all of the 'ph' words in English are derived from Greek words containing a phi; phi was not pronounced as 'F', but rather as an aspirated P.

Enunciate an aspirated P a lot of times in a row; see how long it takes for you to feel lazy about the voiceless aspirated bilabial stop and wind up with a voiceless labiodental fricative instead. ;)

[oneironaut.livejournal.com]

It probably went through a voiceless bilabial fricative stage at some point between, like the 'wh' in Maori. (I can't lay hands on a less obscure language with that sound in it at the moment, but I'm sure there's one around here somewhere.)

[teddywolf.livejournal.com]

I am forgetting my aleph bet (dammit) but one Hebrew letter makes either a "p" or an "f" sound depending on if it has a dot in ze middle.