Hindi: How is pronouncing "ph" (फ) as "f" (फ़) perceived?

[Pokeflute]

There's been a few threads about how some (many?) Hindi speakers merge "ph" and "f" (फ and फ़), pronouncing both as "f" (फ़) . I'm more curious about how this merger is perceived. Is it normal? Is it stigmatized?

For context, I learned Hindi with the two merged (e.g. I pronounce फिर "phir" as "fir"), and I'm wondering if it's worth re-learning a lot of vocabulary to distinguish these two sounds.

 

[Qureshpor]

As a matter of interest, I just came across the following sentence in a Persian grammar book written for Hindi speakers.

वह जो झिझकता है असफ़ल है.

I shall leave the perception to Hindi speakers.

 

[aevynn]

I also grew up speaking a variety that frequently merges ph into f. Once, soon after I had first learned that this was "incorrect" by some prescriptive standards, I was at a relative's wedding in India and having a conversation about phere. Others involved in this conversation were pronouncing the word fere. I had a fleeting thought along the lines of, "But phere should be correct, not fere, right...?" and it led to me saying phere when I spoke next. I got a strange look for doing this. I decided that was the last time I was going to try to be vigilant about ph vs f in the context of talking to my relatives.

 

[littlepond]

No stigma, unless you are saying English words, in which case saying "foTo" as "phoTo" may mark your speech as rustic or unrefined in some circles. As far as Hindi is concerned, I also grew up merging the two, and I still merge the two, and it's not a problem for most Hindi speakers.