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.