Are there any other words that contain “ph” pronounced as “vee” other than STEPHEN. This has been something I have asked supposed intellectuals for years with no results. Maybe I have finally found the correct forum for such an inquiry.
As as real intellectual, let me note “phial” is an alternate way of spelling vial.
I’ve always pronounced Stephen as stee-fen. Is this incorrect?
in germanic languages f, v and w (and “ph” in english) are pronounced somwhat similarly. (in dutch and german this is more so than with english). the difference is in the varying contact (or lack of) between the upper teeth and the lower lip.
the “ph” in stephen is more like an ‘f’ than a ‘v’, i think. the long ‘e’ just makes it sound more v-like.
so other “ph” words such as:
sophisticate
staph
prophyl
trophy
could be said to be pronouced with a “v” sound too, depending on who’s doing the pronouncing. (kind of like the “h” in human)
i meant to write “prophylactic” instead of “prophyl”
Yeah, but something stopped you from finishing
[rimshot]
Speaking of the “F = V” strangeness, I’ve read that “of” is the only word in English where the letter F is pronounced with a V sound. But, many such factoids are later proven wrong…are there others?
Main Entry: phi·al
Pronunciation: 'fI(-&)l
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Latin phiala, from Greek phialE
Date: 14th century
: VIAL
I looked this one up in all eagerness but sadly found that the PH in PHIAL is pronounced as an “eff” not a “vee”
THE SEARCH GOES ON
My cousin is named Stephen, pronounced Steff-en. He goes by Steve most of the time though.
Not in my case. My real first name is “Stephen”, and it’s always been pronounced “Steven”. Nothin’ “f”-like about it. For ll I know, that may have been he original pronunciation, but in 21st century America (and back to mid-20th century), the actual pronunciation o the name is the same as if it had a “v” in it.
And no, I haven’t been able to find any other cases of “ph” = “v” yet.
The difference in pronunciation of the name Stephen is mostly a question of the length of the first “e.” If it’s long (as in “meet”) the “ph” is pronounced /v/. If it’s short (as in “met”) the “ph” is pronounced /f/.
It’s all about vowel length and voiced consonants.
Phy do you ask such silly questions? 
Thank you all for your learned & well thought responses
(I was afraid there was no answer & you have confirmed my fears)
I will venture to pose another pet query under a new thread when I am more prepared to word it properly (to avoid confusion).
Uhm…its because that spelling of the name Steven is dervide from the French spelling and pronunciation.
Rob
how about phone?
No, not quite. The difference is whether the consonant is voiced or unvoiced. “v” and “f” are pretty much formed in exactly the same place in the mouth. The only difference is that “v” is voiced and the “f” is unvoiced. The same duality exists with the letters b/p, th(y)/th(igh), k/g, d/t, z/s, etc…
“ph” is not a separate phoneme in English. It’s just another spelling of “f” (or occassionlly “v,” as we have seen.)
The fact that normally unvoiced sounds occassionally get voiced in English is completely normal, and usually dictated by the context of other sounds surrounding phonemes. For example, the “s” in “cats” is pronounced as an “s.” However, the “s” in “lads” gets a “z” pronuncation.
Also, as the “f” in “of” gets “v”, sometimes "v"s in Englished get unvoiced. To wit: “I have to go to a meeting.” Chances are, you pronounce that “have” as “haff.” Why? I suspect because in rapid speech it’s easier to slur two unvoiced sounds (the “f” and “t”) together rather than pronounce the “v” as voiced and the following “t” unvoiced.
So where does this leave us with “Stephen”? I don’t exactly know. Instinctively, it seems to me that a voiced “v” following a long “e” sounds much more natural than an unvoiced “f” following the “e.” Conversely, if pronounced with a short “e,” the “f” sounds more natural than the “v.” Why? That’s for the researchers to figure out.
Uh … Étienne?
In English, “phone” is pronounced with an “f” sound.
In Anglo-American culture, “Stephen” is usually an alternative spelling for “Steven” and is pronounced the same. There are some who pronounce it like “Steffen,” but that pronunciation is derived from non-English sources, such as German, in which the name takes a form such as “Stefan.”
Etienne?
I’ve met French folks with the Stefan spelling. That’s German?
That’s right. Étienne is the French form of Steven. The Stefan form is from Germanic languages.
In England an alternative pronunciation of nephew is nevew.