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                        AMERICAN ENGLISH SPEECH

                                    VOWEL SOUNDS

                                   

U                                   

 

When people have trouble pronouncing the U sound, it is usually because they are mixing it up with OO.  The U sound is “tense.”  That means the muscles of your mouth are not relaxed.  It tends to be longer than the OO, too.

 

Instructions to make this sound: Are your lips rounded?  Are the muscles of your mouth tense?

 

Common problems: Using an OO sound so “pool” sounds like “pull.”

 

Common spellings: EU as in “sleuth,” EW as in “grew,” O as in “into,” OE as in “canoe,” OO as in “food,” OU as in “group,” OUGH as in “through,” U as in “duty,” UE as in “sue,” UI as in “suit”

 

fool                                         a stupid fool                        

pool                                        into the pool                                   

to                                            to improve the soup                     

knew                                      knew the crew                                

through                                 flew through the clouds  

 

We had cool weather and a smooth cruise in June.            

Move to a good neighborhood with good schools.