The Letter “O“: 4 Pronunciations
The relationship between spelling and pronunciation is complicated and confusing in English. Vowels changed, new words were borrowed, but spelling was not modified. In this article I will help demystify the pronunciation of a common English letter: o.
A common mistake my clients make with this vowel is to always pronounce it as /OH/ (IPA /oʊ/ or /ɔ/). For example, I recently had a client who pronounced the words love and not with the same vowel, like a short /OH/ (IPA /ɔ/). In the general American accent, these words have two distinct vowels, neither of which is like /OH/.
A common pronunciation of o in the American accent is /AH/ (IPA /ɑ/), as in:
not
hot
got
common
For this vowel, your tongue is back and low, and your jaw is low. Your mouth is very open for this vowel, almost like you are starting to yawn.
Another common pronunciation of o is /OH/ (IPA /oʊ/). The tongue is far back in the mouth with a central height. This is a long, wavy vowel that glides from /o/ and ends with /ʊ/, that vowel you hear in book.
English /OH/ (IPA /oʊ/) can be tricky to master, so try this: Imagine you’ve got a marble in the very back of your mouth. You’re holding it in place with your tongue up against the back of your throat. Now you’re going to push the marble forward, gliding gently. As you do this you will feel your mouth close slightly. Your lips will also round and close somewhat.
This vowel is commonly associated with the o spelling, for example:
vote
wrote
spoke
goat
Another common pronunciation that is associated with the o spelling is /UH/ (IPA /ʌ/), as in:
love
some
above
This vowel has a central tongue position, in the very middle of the mouth with a central height.
Finally, the spelling o is also associated with the unstressed /uh/ vowel (IPA /ə/). This is a vowel I often call “schwa” in my lessons. It’s like the vowel /UH/ above but unstressed, meaning that it is faster and quieter than /UH/. The tongue shape for /uh/ is more effected by surrounding sounds. The existence of unstressed /uh/ is due to English rhythm. The vowels in many unstressed syllables in English become schwa, not just those spelled with the letter o. For a review of schwa, see the lesson Schwa: The Most Common Vowel in English.
You can find unstressed /uh/ (schwa, IPA /ə/) in the following words:
common
communicate
professor
production
See the video below for a brief review on varying pronunciations of the spelling o in American English.
It can be difficult to hear patterns in your own speech, learn how to effectively make change in your speech, and stick to a plan. Sign up for a speech assessment with me today to learn more about your speech and how I can help you achieve your goals. As a part of the assessment you will receive a first personalized lesson and a guide to effective practice strategies. I’m here to help you on your journey to clearer, more confident speech!
Written by Sarah Sherer, PhD 5/31/2023.