Lesson 3 The sounds of /u/ as in fool and /ʊ/ as in full, /˄/ as in dull and /ɒ/ as in doll, /ɔ/ as

in fall and /oʊ/ as in foal

The phoneme /u/ is a high back rounded vowel. The lower jaw is as close to the roof of
the mouth as possible. Compared to any other American English speech sound, the lips are more
rounded and protruded. The back of the tongue is raised high toward the soft palate. The muscles
of both the tongue and jaw tense and the sound is long. The sound is also spelled in various
ways:

eu u/ue oo oe o ew ui ou
maneuver prune pool shoe lose news fruit ghoul
euphemism pursue loose cooed tomb stew suit group
Europe rude goose booed womb flew bruise souvenir
pneumonia plume soothe shrew

/ʊ/ as in full is also a high back rounded vowel. However, the jaw is slightly lower than
for /u/. The lips are also slightly rounded and protruding. The tongue is relaxed with the back just
a little lower than for [u]. Lastly, the sound is short. The sound is commonly spelled with letter u
like in pull and full but it is also spelled as oo like in wood and food, o like in woman and wolf
and ou like in should and would.

Note that u, o, ou and oo in many words are also articulated as /˄/ which has the sound of
“ugh”. Some examples are:

u o ou oo
duck, cup, jump, run, love, dove, come, touch, double, cousin, blood, flood
ugly, us other, onion, enough, rough

Moreover, o is also articulated as /ɒ/which is a low back lax vowel. To produce this
vowel, keep the back of the tongue lax and low. Protrude the lips slightly and make a short
sound. The lips are not as rounded as for /ɔ/ in ball. Adrian Underhill (2016) describes it as like
having a whole orange in your mouth which pushes the tongue and jaw back and down. You try
to close your lips on the orange creating a space in your mouth and before the tongue. The jaw is
low and the lips are protruded, slightly rounded and not open wide. This sound is spelled in most
words as o like in stop, hot, knowledge, cost, boss, office and drop.

The phoneme /oʊ/ as in foal, go, tone and vote is not a critical sound for most Filipino
speakers of English but some articulate it as /u/ like in pronouncing the words plateau and sew
as /plæˈtu/ and /su/ instead of /plæˈtoʊ/ and /soʊ/ or /ɔ/ like in pronouncing the words October,
oval and omen as /ɑkˈtɔbər/, /ɔv(ə)l/ and /ɔmən/ instead of /ɑkˈtoʊbər/, / oʊv(ə)l/ and /oʊmən/. It
is spelled in various ways, like:
 o eau oa ou oe ow ew
bonus chateau oath though woe blow sew
ocean beau boat dough foe bowl
overt bureau roam furlough toe meadow
won’t trousseau coach thorough hoe mow
cobra tableau broach although doe sow

Lastly, /ɔ/ as in ball, fall and awe is a low back tense rounded vowel. The jaw drops to a
low position, the lips are protruded and rounded and the back of the tongue rises slightly toward
the soft palate. The muscles of the tongue and jaw are slightly tense and the sound is long. Many
Filipinos replace this sound with /oʊ/ like in pronouncing the words caught, taught and law as
/koʊt/, /toʊt/ and /loʊ/ instead of /kɔt/, /tɔt/ and /lɔ/. Note that a single difference in sound can
cause a difference in meaning so that when you say /koʊt/, /toʊt/ and /loʊ/ instead of /kɔt/, /tɔt/
and /lɔ/, you are producing the words coat or cote, tote and low instead of caught, taught and
law.
This sound is spelled in various ways as shown in:

a aw au/augh oa ou/ough o
call awe laud broad ought horse
tall law naught board sought lord

For more illustration on how to articulate the critical sounds /ʊ/, /ɔ/, /ɒ/ and /˄/, try to
watch the youtube videos below:

/ʊ/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moLTR-
dLQQY&list=PLYJV5Moz9cfyRIyd3HKzwRGnDM_BSbEuI&index=10

/ɔ/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr_KAu-_Hmo

/ɒ/https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=R5CY1UniS68&list=PLYJV5Moz9cfyRIyd3HKzwRGnDM_BSbEuI&index=8

/˄/https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=X1utTZqC3AI&list=PLYJV5Moz9cfyRIyd3HKzwRGnDM_BSbEuI&index=7

______________________________________________________________________________

Contrasting Drills

Read the words in the list carefully enunciating the focus sounds to contrast them.

/u/ /ʊ/ /u/ /ʊ/

fool full suit soot
stewed stood cooed could
shooed should wooed would
who’d hood Luke look
 pool pull food foot
boole bull nuke nook

Read the phrases and sentences containing the sounds /u/ and /ʊ/.

1. pull him out of the pool

2. suit full of soot
3. would woo Sue
4. lose the hoodlum
5. book in the room
6. Should the wolf pull the wool over your eyes, look out!
7. Luke wooed her and wooed her; she cooed and cooed. He would not propose and she
could not. Poor dear!
8. Shall we put the blue flowers on the bamboo bookcase in our schoolroom?
9. Why the fool sold his law books!
10. Was it the light blue or the soot-black suit that she thew away?

Read the words in the list carefully enunciating the focus sounds /˄/ as in dull and /ɒ/ as in
doll to contrast them with /æ as in stand and /a/ as in star.

/˄/ /ɒ/ /æ/ /a/

dull doll dally dark
rut rot rat
hut hot hat heart
come cam calm
wonder wand wander
some Sam psalm
un- on an art
dug dog dagger dart
umpire omniscient am alm
dumb domino dam darn
suds sod sad facade
sup sop sap sartorial
color collar calendar car
pluck plot platform part
nut not gnat naive
luck lock lack lark
utter otter at latte
touch tots tats Tart

Read the following phrases and sentences articulating and contrasting the focus sounds
distinctly.
 1. large almond
2. blood and thunder
3. hunt for money
4. a whole ton of tan cloth
5. toss the dollar
6. The lost dog was found covered with moss
7. The art department helped Sergeant Clark to search deep into the heart of the matter.
8. As the thunder roared and lightning tore the heavens asunder, the hungry bum trudged his
way along the rough road.
9. His tough love for money angers his rough brother.
10. The other arc on the façade of the hearth was a breakthrough in architecture.
11. Sam, I was really wrong to lend my some of my clocks to Pam.
12. All I want is a proper cup of coffee made in a proper copper coffee pot.
13. One hot summer day, a fox was strolling through an orchard till he came to a bunch of
grapes just ripening on a vine above his head.
14. Mr. Hunt left his hat in his hut and it was so hot!
15. The cat which was on the cot cut its paws while climbing the iron gate.

The words in the list contrast the sounds /oʊ/ and /ɔ/. Read them.

/oʊ/ /ɔ/ /oʊ/ /ɔ/

awe owe laud load
call coal saw sow
ball bowl lawn lone
shawl shoal roll role
law low gall goal
raw row haul hole
ought oat bought boat
off oaf caught coat
gnaw know chalk choke

Contrast these sounds in phrases and sentences.

1. aural-oral approach
2. saw a sower
3. bought a boat
4. called for cold water
5. fall of the foal in the hole
6. I was awed a when I learned how much he owed the bank.
7. He bought a boat after getting a loan from the bank.
8. He pronounced the words sawed, sewed, soared and sword correctly.
9. Note the naughty glint in Nat’s eyes.
10. Paul got very low grades in his law class that he decided to try pole dancing.
Here is a fun poem that contains the sounds we learned.

Always Saying "Don't!"

By Edgar Albert Guest

Folks are queer as they can be,

Always sayin' " don't " to me;
Don't do this an' don't do that.
Don't annoy or tease the cat,
Don't throw stones, or climb a tree,
Don't play in the road. Oh, Gee!
Seems like when I want to play
" Don't " is all that they can say.

If I start to have some fun,

Someone hollers, " Don't you run! "
If I want to go an' play
Mother says: " Don't go away. "
Seems my life is filled clear through
With the things I mustn't do.
All the time I'm shouted at:
" No, no, Sonny, don't do that! "

Don't shout so an' make a noise,

Don't play with those naughty boys,
Don't eat candy, don't eat pie,
Don't you laugh and don't you cry,
Don't stand up and don't you fall,
Don't do anything at all.
Seems to me both night an' day
" Don't " is all that they can say.

When I'm older in my ways

An' have little boys to raise,
Bet I'll let 'em race an' run
An' not always spoil their fun;
I'll not tell 'em all along
Everything they like is wrong;
An' you bet your life I won't
All the time be sayin' " don't. "