Practising vowels: /u:/ and /ʊ/

These are "u" vowel sounds.

In Spanish, we have only one "u" vowel, which is produced with round, half open lips. It is neither short nor long. Some words that have this vowel are:

uva, unión, truco, cubrir, humo, Uruguay. This vowel is pronounced exactly in the same way in all words, no matter where it occurs. We'll almost always hear the full quality of "u".

In English, there are two sounds for "u": one of them is /u:/, which is a long, close, back sound. It is produced with round lips, open enough as to let the air escape through the mouth. You should feel some tension in your mouth cavity, and the tongue will remain in the lower position when /u:/ occurs. By "back" we mean that this vowel sound is "felt" at the back of the mouth.

Some examples: boot, Hugh, balloon, do (as main verb, as strong form of the auxiliary), blue, cute.

The other sound is /ʊ/. This is a short, half close, back sound (not as back as its counterpart). It is pronounced with relaxed, neutral lips, and the mouth opening will be a little wider than for /u:/. No tension is felt when producing this sound.

Some examples: book, look, good, put, wolf.

Tip: for Spanish speakers, it is a good idea to practise this sound making it longer and closer than "u", and much shorter for /ʊ/, depending on each case. You will notice that the Spanish vowel "u" is somewhere between the two English ones, and it is more open as well.

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