Some quirks of English feel completely random. But when you study the history of the language, things that seem mysterious suddenly start to make sense. Modern English is basically a museum full of leftover linguistic relics.
One example is the way “leaf” becomes “leaves,” while most words simply add an “s” to form a plural. The same thing happens with words like “wife” and “knife,” where the “f” sound turns into a “v” in the plural forms.
The explanation goes back to the Old English sound system, which worked differently from the one we use today. Bear with us while we get a little technical.
Linguists use the term "phoneme" to describe a distinctive sound in a language, like “p” and “b” in English. Depending on where they appear in a word, those sounds can also have variations, which linguists call "allophones."
Try putting your hand in front of your mouth and saying the word “pot.” You should feel a small puff of air against your hand. Now say “spot.” This time, there’s no puff. That puff is what linguists call "aspiration." When "p" occurs at the beginning of a word in English, it will have aspiration. If it occurs after "s," it will not.
Generally speaking, these two "p" sounds don't really sound different to us. In a language like Hindi, however, aspirated "p" and non-aspirated "p" are as distinct as the sounds "p" and "b" are in English.
Old English handled “f” and “v” in a somewhat similar way. There was an “f” sound, but “v” was not considered a separate sound. Instead, “f” had two variants: "fuh" and "vuh." The "vuh" sound occurred when "f" was placed between two voiced sounds, like two vowels.
The Old English word for “wife” was “wif,” pronounced “weef.” To make it plural, speakers added “as” to the end, "wifas." Once there was a vowel after the "f," the sound became "v." So, "wif" referred to one woman, and "wifas" referred to two or more women. That pattern survived in words like “wives,” “knives,” and “leaves,” even as English pronunciation and spelling changed over time.
Hockey fans may still be wondering why the Toronto Maple Leafs don’t follow the same rule. To hear that explanation, listen to the audio above.
