Pronunciation_of_v_in_German
The pronunciation of ⟨v⟩ is one of the few cases of ambiguity in German orthography. The German language normally uses ⟨f⟩ to indicate the sound /f/ (as used in the English word fight) and ⟨w⟩ to indicate the sound /v/ (as in victory). However, ⟨v⟩ does occur in a large number of German words, where its pronunciation is /f/ in some words but /v/ in others.
Originally, in Middle High German, the sound /f/ had been voiced in some dialects and was therefore written ⟨v⟩.[citation needed] Contemporary German has gone back to the unvoiced pronunciation, but idiosyncratically sometimes retained the medieval spelling. As a general (and defective) rule, it can thus be said that ⟨v⟩ is pronounced /f/ in originally German words and /v/ in words of foreign origin.