Tricky vowels: STRUT, NURSE and FACE & GOAT
'1. An analytical exercise on the STRUT-vowel, NURSE and FACE & GOAT
Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte addresses the Chicago Council of Global Affairs. Listen here how from 1.22 he says that he is 'looking forward to the [dɪskʏʃən] after a few words of [ɪntrɒdʏkʃən]', where he substitutes Dutch /ʏ/ ‘uh’ for the STRUT-vowel /ʌ/ in 'discussion' and 'introduction'.
Speakers of languages like Russian don’t have NURSE and use another vowel instead. Hear how at 00.44 President Putin pronounces [wɒrds] for 'words' but does pronounce [wɜːrld] 'world' in ‘It is a pleasure to say two words to you in Wien … one of the most beautiful cities in the world’.
Many speakers of English varieties pronounce the FACE-diphthong /eɪ/ as the monophthong /eː/ and GOAT /əʊ/ or /oʊ/ as [oː]. This includes, speakers from The Netherlands, India, Africa, and native speakers from the North of England! In this clip from the both funny and moving film The Full Monty, which is set in Sheffield, Dave and Gaz ask Gerald to help them learn to dance. Gerald answers 00.33 : ‘Dancers have coordination, skill, timing, fitness and grace’. Hear him pronounce 'coordination' /kəʊ ɔːdɪneɪʃən/ as [koː ɔːdɪneɪʃən] and (very clearly) 'grace' /greɪs/ as [greːs].
Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte addresses the Chicago Council of Global Affairs. Listen here how from 1.22 he says that he is 'looking forward to the [dɪskʏʃən] after a few words of [ɪntrɒdʏkʃən]', where he substitutes Dutch /ʏ/ ‘uh’ for the STRUT-vowel /ʌ/ in 'discussion' and 'introduction'.
Speakers of languages like Russian don’t have NURSE and use another vowel instead. Hear how at 00.44 President Putin pronounces [wɒrds] for 'words' but does pronounce [wɜːrld] 'world' in ‘It is a pleasure to say two words to you in Wien … one of the most beautiful cities in the world’.
Many speakers of English varieties pronounce the FACE-diphthong /eɪ/ as the monophthong /eː/ and GOAT /əʊ/ or /oʊ/ as [oː]. This includes, speakers from The Netherlands, India, Africa, and native speakers from the North of England! In this clip from the both funny and moving film The Full Monty, which is set in Sheffield, Dave and Gaz ask Gerald to help them learn to dance. Gerald answers 00.33 : ‘Dancers have coordination, skill, timing, fitness and grace’. Hear him pronounce 'coordination' /kəʊ ɔːdɪneɪʃən/ as [koː ɔːdɪneɪʃən] and (very clearly) 'grace' /greɪs/ as [greːs].
3. Listen and repeat: the NURSE-vowel and the diphthongs FACE & GOAT
