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Other Vowels + Exceptions

The document provides instructions on pronouncing 5 English vowel sounds: /ʊ/, /u/, /ɔ/, /ɔɪ/, and /aʊ/. It explains the tongue position and lip shape for each vowel, and provides example words to practice pronunciation. Key points include that /ʊ/ is produced with the back of the tongue raised mid-high, /u/ with the back of the tongue raised high, and /ɔ/ with the entire tongue pushed back and low in the mouth.

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Dajana Rakić
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155 views9 pages

Other Vowels + Exceptions

The document provides instructions on pronouncing 5 English vowel sounds: /ʊ/, /u/, /ɔ/, /ɔɪ/, and /aʊ/. It explains the tongue position and lip shape for each vowel, and provides example words to practice pronunciation. Key points include that /ʊ/ is produced with the back of the tongue raised mid-high, /u/ with the back of the tongue raised high, and /ɔ/ with the entire tongue pushed back and low in the mouth.

Uploaded by

Dajana Rakić
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Introduction to Other Vowel Sounds

The five 'other' vowel sounds do not fit into the category of a long vowels or short
vowels.

1. other u /ʊ/
2. oo sound /u/
3. aw sound /ɔ/
4. oi sound /ɔɪ/
5. ow sound /aʊ/
How to pronounce the 'other u' /ʊ/
To create the 'other u' /ʊ/ sound, the back of the tongue is raised to a mid-high position. The
sides of the tongue may touch the top teeth toward the back of the mouth. The jaw is slightly
closed and the lips are pulled into a loose circle.

put /pʊt/

good [ɡʊd] You’ve done a very good job today! My son is a very good boy!
She’s done her best. There’re some of the chores we haven’t done yet.
(connecting the sounds in one simple sound)
full [fʊl]
look [lʊk] (lock = not the same!)
should [ʃʊd]
would [wʊd]
could [kʊd]
took [tʊk]
cook [kʊk]
sugar [ʃʊɡɚ]
woman [wʊmən]
insurance [ɪnʃʊɹəns]
neighbourhood [neɪbɚhʊd]
hood of the car /hʊd/

The rest can be found here:

https://teflpedia.com/Pronunciation_exercises:_/u%CB%90/_vs_/%CA%8A/
How to pronounce the 'oo sound' /u/
To create the 'oo sound' /u/, the lips are pulled into a tense, small circle. In addition, the back of the
tongue is raised to a high position and sides of the tongue may touch the top teeth at the back of the
mouth.

amuse /əˈmjuːz/
blue /bluː/
bruise /bɹuːz/ (“I” is also not heard)
cruise /kɹuːz/ (without “I” heard)
crew /kɹuː/
dude /duːd/ (longer “u”, duuuude = man, guy)

The rest of the words can be found here:

https://www.enchantedlearning.com/wordlist/longu.shtml

How to pronounce the 'aw sound' /ɔ/


The entire tongue is pushed back and kept low during the pronunciation of the 'aw sound' /ɔ/.
The bottom side teeth can be felt alongside the front of the tongue during the sound. The back
of the tongue has only a slight rounding upward at the very rear of the mouth. The lips are
made into an oval shape, and may stick slightly outward.

The North American 'aw sound' /ɔ/ is one of the sounds with the greatest variation in
pronunciation even within the continent. Some regions of the United States do not consider
this to be a different sound from the 'short o' /ɑ/. However, in many regions of the country it
is a unique sound; therefore it is described separately.

This vowel sound, when pure, is quite similar to the AH as in FATHER vowel. In some areas
of the United States, we don’t even make this sound. We always use the AH as in FATHER
sound instead.

Also, when this vowel is followed by the R consonant, it changes.

Tips on making this sound:

Lips are wide along the face, mouth opens flat, and the jaws drop.

Tip of tongue is on the bottom of the mouth, but the tongue rises towards the back of the
mouth.

There is a vibration in the back of the throat.

The sound can be sustained.

Typically, this vowel is longer than others and is given more stress.

Examples (the letters in bold get the /aw/ or /ɔ/ sound):


Typically, when a word ends with ‘aughty’, the ‘t’ sounds like a ‘d’ in spoken English.

Two exceptions to the “augh” rule here are “laugh” and “draught”. Here the “augh” is
pronounced as “aef.” This “ae” sound comes in words such as: and, am, an, at, as, gas, etc.

In this category of words, the ‘a’ sounds like the /aw/ or /ɔ/, and the ‘l’ is not pronounced:
talk, walk, chalk, balk.

American First Names with the /aw/ or /ɔ/ sound: Dawn, Shawn (Sean)*, Donna, Ross,
Maude, Paul, Saul…

*Take note that Shawn and Sean are pronounced the same way, though they are spelled
differently. It is pronounced as ‘sh- aw –n’.

American Last / Family Names with the /aw/ or /ɔ/ sound: Crawford, Lawson, Hall, Ross,
Moss, Foster, Walker… (no “l”)

*The "l" in "Walker", and also in "walk", is silent. The words "walk" and "wok" are
pronounced the same in American English.
Incidentally, the ‘au’ in ‘Authentic Journeys’ also has the /aw/ or /ɔ/ sound!

- August,

- Australia, Austria, autumn

- …

Cultural references:

The sound ‘aw’ exaggerated as ‘aaaaww’ is used when someone thinks someone or
something is cute or adorable. For instance, ‘Aaawww, that puppy is so cute.’ Or
‘Awwwww, your baby is adorable.’

A TIP TO REMEMBER:
How to pronounce the 'oi sound' /ɔɪ/
The 'oi sound' /ɔɪ/ is a two-sound vowel that ends in a brief 'y sound' /y/.

Part 1: At the beginning of the sound the jaw is open about mid-way and the body of the
tongue is in a low position in the mouth. The bottom teeth can be felt along the sides of the
tongue.

Part 2: Then the jaw closes slightly. The body of the tongue moves upward until it is near the
tooth ridge, similar to the position of a 'y sound' /y/. The front sides of the tongue touch the
inside of the top, side teeth.

Some common words which practice the pronunciation of /ɔɪ/ include the following:

with "oi":

appoint - avoid - choice - coin - Illinois /ɪləˈnɔɪ/ - join - joint - noise - oil - point - soil - spoil
– voice - android - boil - foil - moisture - ointment - poison - sirloin - toilet

Exceptions:

"oi" as /əʊɪ/: coincide - going

with "oy":

boy - destroy - destroyer - employ - employee - employer - enjoy - Floyd - joy - Joyce -
Lloyd – toy - annoy - boycott - oyster - royal - soy
(double L)
How to pronounce the 'ow sound' /aʊ/

The 'ow sound' /aʊ/ is a two-sound vowel that ends in a brief 'w sound' /w/.

Part 1: The sound begins with the jaw open and the body of the tongue in a low position in
the mouth. The bottom teeth can be felt along the sides of the tongue.

Part 2: Then, as the jaw closes, the lips close into a small circle similar to the position of a 'w
sound' /w/. The body of the tongue moves upward until the tongue is near the back of the
hard palate.

Some common words which practice the pronunciation of /aʊ/ include the following:

with "ou":

/aʊ/: about - account - amount - announce - around - background - blouse - bound - boundary
- cloud - compound - council - counsel - count - county - discount - doubt - encounter -
flounder - foul - found - founder - ground - house - loud - mount - mountain - mouse - mouth
- noun - out - outcome - output - pound - profound - proud - round - scout - shout - sound -
south - surround - thousand - trout - wound (verb “wind”, past simple = wound)

/aʊə/: flour - hour - our (unstressed /ɑːr/, more British-like) - sour

with "ow":

/aʊ/: allow - bow (inclination) - brow - brown - browse - clown - cow - crowd - crown -
down - drown - eyebrow - frown - how - now - owl - powder - row (quarrel) - towel - town -
vowel – wow! (exclamation)
/aʊə/: coward - flower - power - shower – tower .

Exceptions (i.e., words which are not spelled with "ou" or "ow") are uncommon words:

Maori /ˈmaʊriː/ = natives of New Zealand

McLeod /məˈklaʊd/ = last name

sauerkraut /ˈsaʊərkraʊt/ = a type of sausage (sour-kraut)

umlaut /ˈʊmlaʊt/ = a spelling letter common to German language

Can you see any progression with me, and my pronunciation?

/kenyu-see/ /en-my/

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