U (letter): Difference between revisions
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There is never any y sound when the spelling is '''oû''': '''soûp, groûp, throûgh, roûble, Loûvre''' - though '''ou''' has other sounds: '''yoúng, troúble, doúble, fŏur, cŏurse, ŏught, nŏught, jöurney'''. | There is never any y sound when the spelling is '''oû''': '''soûp, groûp, throûgh, roûble, Loûvre''' - though '''ou''' has other sounds: '''yoúng, troúble, doúble, fŏur, cŏurse, ŏught, nŏught, jöurney'''. | ||
After j it is impossible to make a difference: Jûne, Jûpiter, jûniper, jûry, jûke-bóx, jûte, cf. choôse. There are no words beginning shû- (cf. shút) or chû- (cf. chúm) - except for the French chûte shaft = shoõt gun, which does not have the normal ch sound. | After '''j''' it is impossible to make a difference: '''Jûne, Jûpiter, jûniper, jûry, jûke-bóx, jûte''', cf. '''choôse'''. There are no words beginning shû- (cf. '''shút''') or chû- (cf. '''chúm''') - except for the French '''chûte''' ''shaft'' = '''shoõt''' ''gun'', which does not have the normal ch sound. | ||
Occasionally with the combination sû there is a tendency to palatalise fully and pronounce the s as sh, as for example in sûre certain, which BrE speakers can make sound like the name Shåw, and which never sounds like sewêr waste | Occasionally with the combination '''sû''' there is a tendency to palatalise fully and pronounce the '''s''' as '''sh''', as for example in '''sûre''' ''certain'', which BrE speakers can make sound like the name '''Shåw''', and which never sounds like '''sewêr''' ''waste''; and in '''íssue''' (*íshue - though there is a recent trend back to *íssyue) and '''tíssue'''. But most words do not palatalise: '''assûme''' has the y sound, as can '''sûit''', while '''sûture''' and '''sûper''' have a plain '''s''' sound. | ||
(The tendency noted above for BrE speakers to make '''sûre''' sound like '''Shåw''' used to be more widespread, as with, for example, secûrity pronounced *sekyŏrity: it can be heard in old British films.) | |||
ù sounds like oò in foòt and occurs in a few common words: pùsh, bùsh, fùll, pùt, pùdding coùld, woùld, shoùld (silent | '''ù''' sounds like '''oò''' in '''foòt''' and occurs in a few common words: '''pùsh, bùsh, fùll, pùt, pùdding, coùld, woùld, shoùld''' (silent '''l'''’s in the last three). | ||
The grave accent is also used after q. u is almost always the letter that follows q, where it is pronounced w: quêen, quénch, quâke, quíll, quést. Like w, it has an effect on the following a, making it sound like ŏ or ó: | The grave accent is also used after q. u is almost always the letter that follows q, where it is pronounced w: quêen, quénch, quâke, quíll, quést. Like w, it has an effect on the following a, making it sound like ŏ or ó: |
Revision as of 14:44, 20 November 2008
U is the 21st letter of the English alphabet. Its name is pronounced like the words you and ewe.
Use in English
U is a back vowel, with three basic sounds.
Examples (the accents show stress and pronunciation: see English phonemes):
The short sound: dúck, fún, úp, cúddle, lúst, múst, lúck, búbble, troúble, soúthern (but not sòuth), nút, cúp, fúss, búg, bús, stún, búlb, pútt golf (cf. pùt place) nún God (= nòne negative). Compare lúck and loòk (both pronounced ‘look’ in Northern England): ú, because it is a single letter, likes to be followed by -ck. ú comes after ò in: Doúglas, floúrish, noúrish, yoúng, troúble, doúble (cf. BrE roûble, AmE rûble).
The long sound has a special characteristic: it normally has an invisible consonantal y before it (like eŵ as in feŵ or ieŵ as in vieŵ). Pronounced yû: tûne, tûbe, cûrious, mûcous, vácuum, Canûte, pûre, cûre, ukelèlê, bûte, cûte, dûty, fûtile, mûte, pûtrid, queûe (*kyoô = cûe) and preferably also stûpid, nûclear, nûde. It is always pronounced yû initially: ûse (verb, voiced s; noun, unvoiced s), ûsual, Ûrals, ûríne. But after l and r it equals oô in toô, foôd, noôn: Lûke, lûnar, flûe chimney = flû influenza, blûe, glûe, rûde, rûle, rûmour, Rûfus, Rûpert, accrûe, scrûple. Some speakers of both AmE and BrE frequently use the oô sound for û, omitting the invisible y - but this can be regarded as substandard. Indeed after l and s there is much flexibility of pronunciation, and not to pronounce a y is less likely to be frowned upon. These may be pronounced either way: lûred, lûrid, lûcid, Lithuânia, sûit, Surinám.
The sound with the invisible y can also be spelt eû: pneumônia, neûrotic, eûphony, psêudo- (and without the y in rheûmatism) or ûi: frûit, jûice, nûisance, slûice, brûise, recrûit, crûise.
There is never any y sound when the spelling is oû: soûp, groûp, throûgh, roûble, Loûvre - though ou has other sounds: yoúng, troúble, doúble, fŏur, cŏurse, ŏught, nŏught, jöurney.
After j it is impossible to make a difference: Jûne, Jûpiter, jûniper, jûry, jûke-bóx, jûte, cf. choôse. There are no words beginning shû- (cf. shút) or chû- (cf. chúm) - except for the French chûte shaft = shoõt gun, which does not have the normal ch sound.
Occasionally with the combination sû there is a tendency to palatalise fully and pronounce the s as sh, as for example in sûre certain, which BrE speakers can make sound like the name Shåw, and which never sounds like sewêr waste; and in íssue (*íshue - though there is a recent trend back to *íssyue) and tíssue. But most words do not palatalise: assûme has the y sound, as can sûit, while sûture and sûper have a plain s sound.
(The tendency noted above for BrE speakers to make sûre sound like Shåw used to be more widespread, as with, for example, secûrity pronounced *sekyŏrity: it can be heard in old British films.)
ù sounds like oò in foòt and occurs in a few common words: pùsh, bùsh, fùll, pùt, pùdding, coùld, woùld, shoùld (silent l’s in the last three).
The grave accent is also used after q. u is almost always the letter that follows q, where it is pronounced w: quêen, quénch, quâke, quíll, quést. Like w, it has an effect on the following a, making it sound like ŏ or ó: uå sounding like wŏ: quårter, quårtz, squåll, quartét, quårt. ùa sounding like wó: sqùalor, qùantity, qùadrangle, qùarrel.
And in some words from Spanish, u is pronounced w: Nicarágua (-gwə), marijuàna (*mariyəwànə), iguàna (*igwànə).
A redundant u sometimes occurs in the middle of ŏr as ŏur in: fŏur, cŏurse, sŏurce, gŏurd.
Another redundant u occurs in the middle of ör as öur in jöurney, jöurnal, adjöurn, cöurteous, cöurtesey politeness (cf. cürtsey bow) scöurge and unstressed in Lúxembourg.
u is also silent before i in guîde, guílty, buíld, guíld, bíscuit, cïrcuit, and before e in guéss guést, and usually in the ending -ue: tòngue, vâgue, rôgue, burlésque, baròque, unìque, grotésque, but not in âgûe or Móntagûe.
āunt and guàrd also have redundant u, as does gâuge (*gâje) though this can be spelt gâge in America.
-us is an ending with the schwa sound, most often in names: Dêlius, Míngus, Tåurus, Sagittãrius, Vênus, Sírius, Cánopus, Aquãrius, Pándarus, Lûpus, Cêtus, Arctûrus, Jûlius, Crássus, Cássius, Vílnius, Epicûrus, Confûcius and also in nouns: ábacus, sánctus, nímbus, sýllabus, ómnibus, détritus, crôcus.
But it’s -ous with adjectives: glorious fûrious, têdious, pulchritûdinous, màrvellous.
uu is very rare and can be pronounced as one syllable û - as usually in vácûum - or as two syllables ûù - as in contínûùm
Irregular u’s
Spelling | Pronunciation |
---|---|
au pãir | *ô pãir |
au pãir | *ô pãir |
Austria | *Óstria |
because | *bicóz |
bûreau | *byûrô |
bureaucracy | *byurócracy |
bury earth | bérry fruit |
business | *bízniss |
busy | *bízzy |
faux-pàs | *fô-pà |
gauche | *gôsh |
laureate | *lóriət |
laurel | *lórrəl |
Laurence | *Lórrənce (Lawrence is more common) |
Laurie name | lórry vehicle |
Maurice (BrE) given name | Mórris surname |
mauve | *môav (move is pronounced *moôve) |
pláteau | *plátô |
tábleau | *táblô |
Also, in some BrE, u is pronounced f in lieuténant (*lefténant) - though in AmE and other BrE, it is a regular û.