Long Vowel u

Long vowels a, e, i, o, and u are the second set of vowels taught to kids, after they master the short vowels a, e, i, o, and u. The sound of the long vowel is the same as the way we pronounce the name of the vowel. Here, we will be talking about the long u sound /ū/, made by several vowel combinations.

Differences between short and long vowels: 

It is quite useful here to teach students the differences between short and long vowels.

Short vowel sounds are mainly seen in c-v-c words. In these words, the vowel is a syllable followed by a consonant. These sounds are also seen in v-c type of words as in an, at, where again the vowel is followed by a consonant. The vowel in the syllable in these words is a closed syllable as it is followed by the consonant. Such vowel makes the short vowel sound. Therefore, short vowels are a result of closed syllables. Examples include fat, met, bid, bog, and cut (Short vowels a, e, i, o and u respectively)

On the other hand, long vowel u sound is often found in open syllables as in the words, Examples: menu, uniform, unicorn, and use, etc.

S No.	Short Vowels	Long Vowels
1.	Make the short sounds represented by /ă/, /ĕ/, /ĭ/, /ŏ/, and /ŭ/.	Say their own name represented by /ā/, /ē/, /ī/, /ō/, and /ū/.
2.	Found in closed syllables.	Found in open syllables.

Pronunciation of Long vowel u:

The long vowel u is a two-sounded vowel.

It is comparatively easier to understand as it has two sounds that of a y followed by the long oo sound, often written as “yoo”.

Firstly, begin with the tongue the jaw closed and the tongue touches the bottom of teeth. This is as if you would have made a /y/ sound.

Secondly, as you continue the sound shifts towards the formation of a /oo/ sound with the lips forming a closed circle shape. The front of the tongue and the back of the tongue feels the fullness of sound thereby slightly elevating a bit.

Vowel teams such as u-e and ue make the long u sound. 

Rule to follow: “Sound of the first vowel is dominant saying its own name and the second vowel is silent.”

Vowel teams that make the long u sound are:

u-e as in the word cube

ue as in the word hue

Other vowel combinations (eu, ew) and vowel (u) that make the long u sound are:

eu as in the word eucalyptus,

ew as in the word dew,

u as in the word unicorn.

Word list (u-e) words:

Words made by the vowel combination u-e are

use, fuse, cube, tube, lube, tune, cute, mule, flume, plume.

Phonetic decoding of u-e words:

1.     use: /ū/+/z/

2.     cube: /c/+/ū/+/b/

3.     tube: /t/+/ū/+/b/

4.     lube: /l/+/ū/+/b/

5.     tune: /t/+/ū/+/n/

6.     fuse: /f/+/ū/+/z/

7.     cute: /k/+/ū/+/t/

8.     mule: /m/+/ū/+/l/

9.     flume: /fl/+/ū/+/m/

10.  plume: /pl/+/ū/+/m/

While teaching these words it is important to note that the “letter e” that comes at the end is silent. It makes the vowel in the middle to say its own name or become long.

Word list (ue) words:

Words made by the vowel combination ue are:

hue, due, cue, argue, revue, queue

Phonetic decoding of ue words:

1.     hue: /h/+/ū/

2.     due: /d/+/ū/

3.     cue: /k/+/ū/

4.     argue: /ar/+/g/+/ū/

5.     revue: /r/+/i/+/v/+/ū/

6.     queue: /kw/+/ū/

Word list (u) words:

Words made by the vowel combination u are:

human, duty, music. uniform, unit, unity, unicorn, union 

Phonetic decoding of u words:

1.     human: /h/+/ū/+/m/+The Schwa+/n/

2.     duty: /d/+/ū/+/t/+y as long e

3.     music: /m/+/ū/+/z/+/i/+/k/

4.     uniform: /ū/+/n/+/i/+/f/+/or/+/m/

5.     unit: /ū/+/n/+The Schwa+/t/

6.     unity: /ū/+/n/+The Schwa+/t/+y as long e

7.     unicorn: /ū/+/n/+/i/+/k/+/or/+/n/

8.     union: /ū/+/n/+/io/ diphthong+/n/

Word list (eu) words:

Words made by the vowel combination eu are:

deuce, feud, neutral, neutron, eucalyptus

Phonetic decoding of eu words:

1.     deuce: /d/+/ū/+/s/

2.     feud: /f/+/ū/+/d/

3.     neutral: /n/+/ū/+/t/=r/+The Schwa+/l/

4.     neutron: /n/+/ū/+/t/+/r/+/on/

5.     eucalyptus: /ū/+/k/+/l/+/i/+/p/+/t/+ The Schwa+/s/

Word list (ew) words:

Words made by the vowel combination ew are:

dew, new, few, pew, skew, knew, nephew, news

Phonetic decoding of ew words:

1.     dew: /d/+/ū/

2.     new: /n/+/ū/

3.     few: /f/+/ū/

4.     pew: /p/+/ū/

5.     skew: /sk/+/ū/

6.     knew: /n/+/ū/

7.     nephew: /n/+/e/+/f/+/ū/

8.     news: /n/+/ū/+/z/