Pronounce English Accurately

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Vowels 11 & 12: Short /ʊ/ versus long /uː/

To make no. 11, /ʊ/, the lips are pouted quite close: watch my lips.

The back of the tongue is raised high up but it's much harder to feel what the tongue is doing when the back is in action.

When we make the front vowels, /iː/ and /ɪ/, it's very easy to feel that the tongue is high and frontal - we can even see it.

For the back vowels we can't do that, and our awareness of the tongue's position is not so good.

The best way to feel the tongue position difference is by switching from the front vowels to the back ones /ɪ - ʊ - ɪ - ʊ - ɪ - ʊ / and /iː - uː - iː - uː/

Like that you can feel that - /ɪ/ and /iː/ are frontal and high; /ʊ/ and /uː/ are back and high.

No 11, /ʊ/, is short and lax.

No. 12, /uː/ is long and tense, and the lips are really pouted very round indeed: [uː], almost as pouted as for /w/.

Here they are compared: /ʊ - uː - ʊ - uː - ʊ - uː/

Both sounds are most commonly spelt 'oo', but there's often nothing in the spelling to tell us which vowel a word has.

Another spelling of /ʊ/ is 'u' as in 'put', but again it's problematic.

In this case, there's nothing to tell us whether the letter 'u' represents /ʊ/ or No. 6, the mid central vowel /ʌ/, in 'hut'.

Examples of No. 11, short /ʊ/:

'put' - but 'putt' /pʌt/ (a golfing term) rhymes with 'hut'

'took'

'rook'

'took'

'hook'

Another spelling of /ʊ/ is in the '-ould' ending as in 'could' /kʊd/, 'would' /wʊd/ and 'should' /ʃʊd/. In these the 'l' is silent.

Examples of NO. 12, /uː/:

Spelt 'oo': 'too', 'food', 'balloon', 'soon', 'loop', 'pool'

Spelt 'o' in 'two', and 'to' before a vowel as in 'to Exeter'

Spelt 'u' + single consonant + 'e': 'June'

Spelt 'ew': 'chew'

Spelt 'ue': 'blue, true, rue'

Spelt 'ou': 'soup, through'

Spelt 'o': 'do, who, two'

Spelt 'oe': 'shoe'

Spelt 'ui': 'juice, nuisance'

/uː/ often follows the /j/ sound to make /juː/.

/juː/ is the letter name of the letter 'U'.

Examples of the sound /juː/:

Spelt 'u': 'tune', 'puny', 'use, useful', etc. and all the words beginning 'uni-': 'university, united, union, unicorn, unilateral', etc.

Spelt 'u' + single consonant: 'music', 'museum'

Spelt 'ue': 'cue'

Spelt 'ou': 'you'

Spelt 'ew': 'few, phew, ewe, new, dew'

Spelt 'eau': 'beauty, beautiful' and the anglicised place name 'Beaulieu' /ˈbjuː.li/

Spelt 'eue': 'queue'.

From French and anglicised: 'lieu' (in lieu of) /luː, ljuː/

Practice sentences with /ʊ/ and /uː/:

'Look! Put your foot on it!'

Good wood should not be put on the fire

'You stupid fool!' boomed Ruth, as the lunatic in blue flew away.

Take your tools and your boots when you go to Toulouse.