15
Pronouncing x and h
Textbook: Part 1, topic 5, pp. 60–75
GoalTell the sounds x and h apart when pronouncing them.
New words
tree · daraxtcotton · paxtaguest · mehmonair · havo
Explanation
X and h are two different consonants. X is said hard: daraxt, taxta (board), paxta. H is said softer, in the throat: mehmon, halol (honest), havo. So we also call them hard x and soft h.
Worked examples
x: daraxt (tree), taxta (board), paxta (cotton), xalq (people)
h: mehmon (guest), halol (honest), havo (air), shahar (city)
Class activity
“Listen and write”: in pairs, one child says 5 words (with x and h), the other writes what they hear. Then they check together.
Practice
1
In which word is x said hard: paxta or mehmon?
paxta
2
In which word is h said soft: havo or daraxt?
havo
3
Say five words with x and five with h.
For example: xat (letter), xona (room), paxta, taxta, daraxt; hovli (yard), hayvon (animal), bahor, shahar, mehmon