Vowel N° 11 / ɜː /

Vowel N°11 / ɜː /
Description
The centre of the tongue is raised between the half-close and the half-open positions.
The lips are neutrally spread.
There is a light contact between the side rims of the tongue and the upper molars.

Spelling
er: in monosyllabic words: verb /vɜːb/
in accented syllables of longer words: person /pɜːsn/ prefer /prɪfɜː/
ir: first /fɜːst/ circus /sɜːkəs/
yr: myrtle /mɜːtl/
ur: in monosyllabic words: turn /tɜːn/
in accented syllables of longer words: furniture / fɜːnɪtʃə /
W+OR: word /wɜːd/
ear: heard /hɜːd/ learn /lɜːn/
our: journey /dʒɜːnɪ/

Awkward spellings (unusual spellings / exceptions of spelling)

colonel /kɜːnl/

Advice for foreign learners (esp. for Spanish speakers)

We spread the lips a bit.
It’s like the sound we make when we dislike something, or when we hesitate.
 / ɜː / Dialogue 39

A: What does Irvine do?

B: I’m not certain. But he earns a lot. He has money to burn.

A: And Bernard?

B: Oh, I prefer Bernard, of course, but…

A: What a superb fur coat, by the way?

B: As I say, I prefer Bernard, of course, but…

A: And what beautiful pearls!

Mortimer, Colin. Sound Right!: Selected Sounds in Conversation. Longman, 1985.
/ ɜː / Dialogue 39

/ eɪ / wɒt dəz ɜːvaɪn duː /

/ biː / aɪm nɒt sɜːtən / bət hɪ ɜːnz ə lɒt / hɪ hæz mʌnɪ tə bɜːn /

/ eɪ / ən bɜːnəd /

/ biː / əʊ / aɪ prɪfɜː bɜːnəd / əv kɔːs / bʌt /

/ eɪ / wɒt ə suːpɜːb fɜː kəʊt / baɪ ðə weɪ /

/ biː / əz aɪ seɪ / aɪ prɪfɜː bɜːnəd / əv kɔːs / bʌt /

/ eɪ / ən wɒt bjuːtɪfəl pɜːlz /

 / ɜː / Dialogue 40
A: Sh! There's a burglar behind the curtain!

B: Are you certain, Bertha?

A: Don’t disturb him! He might hurt us – or worse, he might even murder us!

B: But are you perfectly certain it’s a burglar?

A: Perfectly. Only a burglar would hide behind a curtain in that way.

B: Oh, Bertha – do you remember Percy Turner?

A: Sh! Gertrude! We’re not the girls we were thirty years ago, you know.

Mortimer, Colin. Sound Right!: Selected Sounds in Conversation. Longman, 1985.

/ ɜː / Dialogue 40

/ eɪ / ʃ / ðəz ə bɜ:glə bɪhaɪnd ðə kɜːtən /

/ biː / ɑː jʊ sɜːtən / bɜːθə /

/ eɪ / dəʊnt dɪstɜːb hɪm / hɪ maɪt hɜːt əs / ɔː wɜːs / hɪ maɪt i:vn mɜːdər əs /

/ biː / bət ɑː jʊ pɜːfɪktlɪ sɜːtən ɪts ə bɜːɡlə /

/ eɪ / pɜːfɪktlɪ / əʊnlɪ ə bɜ:glər wʊd haɪd bɪhaɪnd ə kɜ:tən ɪn ðæt weɪ /

/ biː / əʊ / bɜːθə / dʊ jʊ rɪmembə pɜːsɪ tɜːnə /

/ eɪ / ʃ / ɡɜːtruːd / wɪ ə nɒt ðə ɡɜːlz wɪ wɜː / θɜːtɪ jɪəz əɡəʊ / jʊ nəʊ /