Foot vs Goose ([ʊ]/[u:])

The two vowels covered in this lesson are often replaced by French speakers with a short [u] sound (the French ⟨ou⟩, as in coucou), which matches neither of the correct pronunciations.

Unfortunately you cannot always know when to use which, as English is not good at following rules when it comes to pronunciation.

Let's begin with presenting both sounds:

• The /ʊ/ sound

  It is short, and its realisation depends on the speaker's accent.
  Speakers of RP English use the authentic [ʊ] sound, which is somewhere in between a French [ø] (⟨eu⟩, as in jeu) and [o] (as in beau).
  Speakers of SSB English use a more relaxed sound, [ɵ]/[ʏ], which is very close to the French [ø] (jeu), but slightly less rounded (same as in jeu but lips do not form an "o")

• The /u:/ sound

  It is long, and its realisation depends on the speaker's accent too.
  Speakers of RP English use the authentic [u:] sound, which is close to the French [y] (rue), but held longer.
  Speakers of SSB English use a sound often transcribed as [ᵾw], that could be approximated with an [øy] (jeuw).