Authentic American Pronunciation
There are 4 ways we pronounce written double oo:
1. /uw/
2. /ʊ/
3. /ʌ/
4. /ɔ–ɚ/
5. practice /uw, ʊ, ʌ, ɔ–ɚ/
Today we’ll practice the most common pronunciation: /uw/
Put your mouth in the same shape as the picture.
schoolroom /ˈskuwl–ruwm/
broom /bruwm/
roof /ruwf/
noon /nuwn/
boot /buwt/
stool /stuwl/
food /fuwd/
spoon /spuwn/
one scoop /skuwp/ of ice cream
/wʌn-skuw–pə-ˈvay-skriym/
practice
“choose…chose”
[link]
Next blog post: 2. /ʊ/
In this video, we practice double oo = /ʊ/.
First, let’s listen to the difference between /uw/ and /ʊ/.
look /lʊk/
moon /muwn/
cool /kuwl/
brook /brʊk/
cook /kʊk/
food /fuwd/
foot /fʊt/
boot /buwt/
And now let’s practice /ʊ/.
look /lʊk/
good /gʊd/
cook /kʊk/
book /bʊk/
Look at my really good cookbook.
took /tʊk/
cookie /kʊ–kiy/
Who took the cookie?
hood /hʊd/
woods /wʊdz/
Little Red Riding Hood went through the woods.
crooked /ˈkrʊ–kɪd/
The Leaning Tower of Pisa is crooked.
good /gʊd/
hood /hʊd/
We live in a good neighborhood.
stood /stʊd/
foot /fʊt/
She stood on one foot.
And now it’s your turn.
Which vowel sound do you hear?
/uw/ or /ʊ/
There are 4 ways we pronounce written double oo:
1. /uw/ most common
2. /ʊ/
3. /ʌ/
4. /ɔ–ɚ/
5. practice /uw, ʊ, ʌ, ɔ–ɚ
/ˈbʊk–stɔ–ɚ/
I like going to a bookstore.
/bʊk/
I choose an interesting book or two.
/ˈbʊk–ma–ɚk/
I use bookmarks to save my place.
/ˈbʊk–ʃɛlf/
I put my new book on my bookshelf at home.
/ˈbʊ–kɛnz/
Sometimes I use bookends.
/ˈpey–pɚ–bæk–bʊks/
I have all kinds of books: paperback books,…
/ˈtɛks–bʊks/
…textbooks for school.
/ˈɔ–di–yow–bʊks/
I really like audiobooks.
/ˈiy–bʊk/
My favorite is an e-book.
I can read it anywhere.
Now I have a question for you.
How many ways do we pronounce written double oo?
[The answer is here.].
Written double oo = /ʌ/ in only 2 words.
blood /blʌd/
flood /flʌd/
I have to wash the blood off my hand.
/blʌd/
What is your blood type?
/ˈblʌd-tayp/
His eyes are bloodshot.
/ˈblʌd-ʃat/
A bloodhound is a dog used in hunting.
/ˈblʌd-hawnd/
Floods are common in this region.
/flʌdz/
The road is flooded.
/ˈflʌ–dɪd/
The road is closed because of flooding.
/ˈflʌ–dɪŋ/
A floodlight lights a sports field or stage.
/ˈflʌd-layt/
There are 4 ways to pronounce written double oo.
1. /uw/ most common
2. /ʊ/ small number of words
3. /ʌ/
4. /ɔ–ɚ/
5. practice /uw, ʊ, ʌ, ɔ–ɚ
There are 4 ways we pronounce written double oo:
1. /uw/ most common
2. /ʊ/ small number of words
3. /ʌ/ 2 words
4. /ɔ–ɚ/ 3 words
Written double oo = /ɔ–ɚ/ in only 3 words.
door /ˈdɔ–ɚ/
floor /ˈflɔ–ɚ/
poor /ˈpɔ–ɚ/
Why do we say it this way?
The answer is…the Secret of R [link]
an unstressed vowel + written r = always /ɚ/
do-or /ˈdɔ–ɚ/
flo-or /ˈflɔ–ɚ/
po-or /ˈpɔ–ɚ
a red front door
/ə-ˈrɛd-frən-ˈdɔ–ɚ/
revolving doors
/rɪ-ˈvɑl-vɪŋ-ˈdɔ–ɚz/
He’s knocking on the door.
/hiyz-ˈnɑ-kɪŋ-an-ðə-ˈdɔ–ɚ/
Our house is blue.
/ˈa-wɚ-haw-sɪz-ˈbluw/
Our next-door neighbor‘s house is green.
/ˈa-wɚ-nɛkst-ˈdɔ–ɚ-ˈney-bɚz-haw-sɪz-ˈgriyn/
We live in a 2-story house.
/wiy-lɪ-vɪ-nə-ˈtuw-stɔ-ɚ-iy-ˈhaws/
The kitchen is on the first floor.
/ðə-kɪ-t͡ʃɪ-nɪ-zɑn-ðə-fɚst-flɔ–ɚ/
The bedrooms are on the second floor.
/ðə-bɛd-ruwm-za-ɚ-an-ðə-sɛ-kɪn-flɔ–ɚ/
a wood floor
/ə-ˈwʊd-ˈflɔ–ɚ/
a tile floor
/ə-ˈtayl-ˈflɔ–ɚ/
He’s rolling on the floor laughing.
/hiyz-ˈrow-lɪŋ-an-ðə-ˈflɔ–ɚ-ˈlæ-fɪŋ/
Poor dog.
/ˈpɔ–ɚ-ˈdɔg/
This is poor driving.
/ˈðɪ-sɪz-ˈpɔ–ɚ-ˈdray-vɪŋ/
Note:
The word poor is pronounced differently in different regions of the U.S.
It’s okay to say either /ˈpɔ–ɚ/ or /puw–ɚ/.