Listen & Repeat: How to pronounce the short ‘U’ sound in English

Hi. I'm Rebecca from engVid. In this pronunciation lesson, we will look at

how to pronounce words that have the short "u" sound. Now, the letter "u" can

be pronounced in different ways in English; but today, we are going to

focus on the short sound — the short "u" sound. Okay? If you look at any words in

the dictionary, you'll see that they are written in a particular way — that's

called the "International Phonetic Alphabet". So, this short "u" sound

looks like this — okay? — in the International Phonetic Alphabet. It's

like an upside down "v" sound. Okay? Now, if you never learned that or if you

never look up a word like that, don't worry about it. In this lesson, we're

going to look at exactly how to pronounce these words. Now, here, today,

we're focusing just on the short "u" sound, because it appears in so many

different words. All right? And this is especially helpful for Spanish speakers,

and some others; because, there, the "u" has a different kind of sound. All

right? Now, we'll look at short "u"; however, if you are interested more

seriously in improving your pronunciation in general — do check out

my online course: "Correct Your English Errors in Ten Minutes a Day". There —

along with correcting various kinds of mistakes, and grammar, vocabulary — we

also look at pronunciation. So, if you're interested in that, check the

link in the lesson description. Okay? But for now, let's begin.

So, what is the proper way to pronounce the short "u" sound? The proper way is

to say something like this: "uh". Say it after me: "uh", "uh", "uh". I know it

sounds a little weird, but don't worry; you don't go around just saying that.

That's the sound. But I want you to hear it separately, and then we're going to

use it in... in words itself. Okay? Now, when I'm saying: "uh", the sound is

what? Is it short or long? It's very short. Okay? "uh". It's almost shorter

than you can imagine. It's very, very short. So, make sure you're saying it

really short. Plus, look at my lips: "uh", "uh". So, my lips are also very

relaxed. Right? They're not tense. So, the... the sound is short, and my lips

are relaxed. So, make sure that your... your mouth is also the same way. And it

can help sometimes to look in a mirror when you're practicing your

pronunciation. All right. So, that's what you should do: You should say:

"uh". What you should not do is to pronounce the "u"... the short "u" sound

like "oo". All right? Do not do that. So, for example, in this word — this

word should be: "ultra"; not: "ooltra". Okay? So, we're just gonna look very

briefly at what you should not do. And after that, we'll focus on all the

things you should do. But let's... let me just let you hear what happens if you

don't pronounce it properly. All right? So, say: "ultra"; not: "ooltra". Say:

"culture"; not: "coolture". Say: "public"; not: "pooblic". Okay? So,

that's our goal: To say it with the short "u" sound. So, let's begin.

Let's start first by looking at some very short words. Repeat after me: "Up",

"cup". "But", "nut". "Duck", "luck". Okay? Keep it nice and compact; nice and

short. Let's continue. The words are getting a little longer, but the sound

is not getting longer — the sound stays the same. "Shut", "uncle", "lunch",

"running", "truck", "husband". Okay? Good. Let's continue now. Now we're

going to look at some business-English vocabulary that has the same short "u"

sound. Okay? Repeat after me: "Discuss". Good. "Subsidize". "Customer", and

"function". All right? Of course, we're going to have business-English words,

academic words, general words — all of which have this short "u" sound; they're

everywhere. All right? And can you know when it's a short "u" sound or some

other sound? Not automatically. Okay? My lesson will help you look at many of the

patterns, but really you need to listen. Okay? Listen to what a... a

native-English speaker is saying, and then you can also check in the

dictionary, if you wish. And if you see this symbol — right? — the upside down

"v", then you'll know that this is the sound we're looking for. The short "u",

which is what? "uh". Very good. All right.

Now, here are a whole lot of words. Repeat after me. Okay? It's really good

practice. "Multicultural", "multinational", "multilingual",

"multilateral", "multimedia", and "multicolour". Okay? So, these are just

a few words, like that, which have this prefix: "multi". What does that prefix;

that beginning: "multi" mean? It means: Many. Okay? So, "multicultural" refers

to many cultures; "multinational" — many nationalities or many countries;

"multilingual" —okay? — has to do with, what? What does it mean if I say someone

is "multilingual"? That person speaks many languages. Okay? It's really

interesting, with "lingual". So, if you speak one language, you are "uni" —

"u-n-i" — "unilingual". If you speak two languages, do you know the prefix for

that one? "B-i", "bilingual". Okay? If you speak three languages, you might be

"trilingual"; "t-r-i". All right? But, usually after that, we just say:

"multilingual". All right? Or even sometimes after two, we just say: "He's

multilingual", "She's multilingual". She speaks many languages. All right?

"Multilateral". "Lateral" means sides. So, if you have "multilateral"

discussions, you have many sides taking part in the discussion. All right?

"Multimedia", and "multicolour". All right? Next, let's look at some

expressions, phrasal verbs that use the word: "up" as part of the expression.

All right? So, repeat after me: "back up". You need to "back up" your files —

all right? — so you don't lose them. "Cheer up". Okay? If somebody is sad, we

might say: "Cheer up". "Show up". Okay? We weren't sure if he was going to... to

come to the meeting. But finally, he "showed up". He came. He arrived. He did

come. And: "bring up". Okay? Please don't "bring up" that subject. All

right? Or: Make sure to "bring up" that topic at the meeting. All right? So,

here, we see that, again, the word: "up" appears in lots of phrasal verbs, and

these are just a few of them. Okay? Now let's look at another very interesting

point about the short "u" sound.

So far, we looked at a lot of words, and they all had the letter "u" in them.

Right? And we said that they were the short "u" sound. On this board, I'm

gonna show you something else that very often, we have to say the short "u"

sound, but there is no "u" in the word at all; there are some other letters.

So, let's look at some examples. All right? A very popular word — right? —

"love". Is there a "u" there? No. All of these words on this side — these five —

they have an "o", which is actually pronounced like a short "u". So, let's

go through these first. Ready? "Love". Don't get confused by the "o"; don't

say: "lohve". No. "Love". So, it sounds like this — okay? — "luhve". "Money".

Another very popular word. Right? "Money". So, "money", in English, even

though it's spelt with an "o" sounds exactly like: "bunny", which is with a

"u". All right? That's how it is. This word: "Son" is pronounced exactly like

this word — the "sun" in the sky; or your "son" and daughter — right? —

"son". So, this word and this word sound exactly the same, or they should. All

right? The next word: "brother". Say it after me: "brother" or "mother". This

one: "company". Let's go back and say them all. Ready? "Love", "money", "son",

"brother", and "company". So, even though they had an "o" in terms of

spelling, they had this short "u" sound. Okay? Now, the same thing is true here;

except these words are not spelled with just an "o", but really with "o-u".

Okay? All of them. However, they have the short "u" sound that you know, and

you're getting so good at now. All right? So, repeat after me. Ready?

"Cousin", "young", "trouble", "country", "double". All right? So, again: Ignore

what you see, but learn the sound correctly. All right? So, whether it's:

"o", or whether it's: "o-u" — for some words, it's going to have that short "u"

sound. Here's another spelling variation, which also produces the same

short "u" sound. This word: "blood", right? The blood in your veins; in your

body — "blood". I know there are two "o's" there, but it's still pronounced

something like this: "blood". Okay? Or this word: "flood". It's when there's

too much water — right? — accumulate. We have... you have a "flood". So,

similarly. Even though there are two "o's", that sound is of a short "u". All

right, good for you.

You've learned so much in this lesson with that. And this part will help you a

lot, because I find that a lot of my... my students and my clients do get

confused because, naturally, you don't see a "u" there, so why would you say

that? Well, when you know a little bit about English and you've learned a

little more carefully about pronunciation, then you get to know that

these sounds also appear in those words. Okay? But now... usually, since you

don't just go around saying words, but you actually use those words in

sentences, let's make sure that you don't just say the word correctly when

you're practicing, but when those words appear in a sentence or a question —

that you continue to pronounce them correctly because sometimes that's a bit

of a challenge. So, let's try a few of those. Ready? "Where's the bus?" Good.

"That's funny." Good. Okay, number three: "Let's discuss the proposal."

Let's try that one more time: "Let's discuss the proposal." Good. Number

four: "It's a multinational company." Very good. And number five. Number five

is just what we call, like, a "tongue twister"; just a silly sentence that

helps you to master this sound — all right? — in a kind of a fun, silly way.

So, if you're going to practice this sound, then you could say this sentence

every day, and make sure that you're saying it correctly. All right? It's a

good way to summarize what we've been learning. Are you ready? Here we go: "In

the middle of the rug sat a big, black bug." Okay? It's just a silly thing. Say

it again: "In the middle of the rug sat a big, black bug." All right, that's it.

Congratulations — you reached the end of this lesson. And it was so important —

right? — because you learned that it doesn't only have to be spelled with a

short... with a "u", but it can be spelled in many different ways when we

have to produce this sound. Okay? And if you're serious about improving your

pronunciation, also, as I said — and correcting various kinds of errors that

you might be making in English — please check out the link to the "Correct Your

English Errors" course. I think you might find it very helpful. All right?

We're getting really good feedback from many of our students. So, thanks very

much; and all the best with your English. Bye for now.