HINT — The 4 Sounds of U
Lesson: Listening and speaking are connected. To make the sound you need to notice how your mouth, lips, tongue, and jaw move. Click the short videos below to hear each sound clearly.
/juː/ — “you” sound (unit, use, university)
Round your lips slightly, raise your tongue high and forward, and glide smoothly into the long /juː/ This is a long voiced sound starting as a Ju: and finish as a u:"
/uː/ — long “oo” sound (oops, uber, ooze)
Lips rounded, tongue high and back, voiced.
/ʌ/ — “uh” sound (uncle, under, update)
Relaxed tongue, neutral lips, natural short sound.
/ɜː/ — “er” sound (urgent, urban, early)
Tongue mid-central, slight lip rounding, long controlled vowel.