Comparing the vowels /u/ and /u:/
These two vowels are both found in most words that contain letters “o”, “oo”, “ou”, “ui” and “u”...and it is highly difficult to tell which is which.
I have been teaching better English pronunciation across schools and colleges for a number of years, and there is one thing I would like to reiterate: rules wouldn’t just suffice. What matters and brings about improvement is committing new words that differ from the rules to memory. In some cases, there are no rules. Just flow with the vibes. This is the case with the short vowel /u/ and its friend, long vowel /u:/. The colon ‘:’ is a diacritic that indicates that the sound is long. The lips are rounded in both cases, but /u:/ is longer than /u/.
These two vowels are both found in most words that contain letters “o”, “oo”, “ou”, “ui” and “u”, and it is highly difficult to tell which is which. For example, cook /kuk/ has a short vowel /u/ and food /fu:d/ has a long vowel /u:/. You see? They are best learnt by heart, by committing every word to memory and using them correctly in every situation.
However, I have found some interesting stuff about the two vowels:
Words like womb /wu:m/ and tomb /tu:m/ have the long vowel /u:/. Note that the letter b is silent in both words. But comb is pronounced /kəʊm/. The letter b is also silent.
Words like could, should, would, wolf, have a short vowel /u/. Transcribed /kud/, /ʃʊd/, /wud/, /wulf/. There is silent letter l in the first three words, except wolf.
Words suggesting war or something like it such as boom, loom, doom, loot, moody etc (add ‘room’, regardless) have the long vowel /u/:. Boom /bu:/, loom /lu:m/, doom /du:m/, room /ru:m/, loot /lu:t/, moody /mu:di/.
There is /u/ in woman as in /ˈwʊmən/ but women is pronounced /wimin/
Full and bull have the short vowel /u/, as in /ful/ and /bul/ respectively. But dull /dʌl/, cull /kʌl/, and culprit /ˈkʌlprɪt/ have the vowel /ʌ/.
Fool, cool, and coup have the long vowel /u:/ as in /fu:l/, /ku:l/ and /ku:/. Note that the letter p is silent in coup.
Words ending with ‘ude’ such as rude, crude, dude, etc have the long vowel /u:/. Rude /ru:d/, crude /kru:d/, dude /du:d/.
Wood and butcher have a short vowel /wud/ and /ˈbʊtʃə/
Words like true and truth have the long vowel /u:/ as in /tru:/, /truːθ/, because of course it takes some long time to unearth them. Lol 😂
Fatherhood, sisterhood, brotherhood, and falsehood have the short vowel /u/ in the hood. But hoodlum has the long vowel /u:/ as in /ˈhuːdləm/. Hoodlum is just what it is. 🌚
There is lose /lu:z/ and loose /lu:s/.
Be careful! There is no short or long vowel in glutton, muddy, suite, build, guilt, and nun.
I know reading and learning these words might be daunting. But I can assure you that with practice, you will use all of these words correctly, and even many other words.
Most importantly, one must pay keen attention to how native speakers of English pronounce such words that contain the letters where /u/ and /u:/ are most likely found.
Yours in English,
Francis