Master the pronunciation of the rounded back vowels
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| This is the ㅜ (u) sound, and this is the ㅗ (o) sound. By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to tell them apart, PLUS you'll be practicing them and on your way to perfect pronunciation! |
| I'm Joyce, and this is Korean Pronunciation Through Minimal Pairs. |
| First is ㅜ (u). This is the ㅜ (u) sound in 주다 (ju-da) "to give," 물 (mul) "water," and other words. |
| ㅗ (o) is the sound in 오다 (o-da) "to come," 꽃 (kkot) "flower," and other words. |
| These two vowels are called rounded back vowels. "Back" refers to tongue backness, and "roundedness" relates to the lips. |
| To make the ㅜ sound: round your lips tightly and raise the back of your tongue towards the roof of your mouth. The lips should be in a rounded, forward position, and the sound should be produced from the back of your mouth. It sounds like oo in "moon." |
| ㅜ |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ㅜ (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ㅜ |
| To make the ㅗ sound: round your lips slightly less than for ㅜ and raise the back of your tongue, but not as high as for ㅜ. The lips should be rounded but not as tightly, and the sound should be produced towards the back of your mouth. It sounds like o in "go." |
| ㅗ |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ㅗ (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ㅗ |
| The difference between these sounds lies in the tongue height and lip rounding. |
| ㅜ is pronounced with the lips tightly rounded and the back of the tongue raised towards the roof of the mouth. |
| ㅗ is pronounced with the lips slightly rounded and the back of the tongue slightly less raised. |
| In the case of ㅗ, the lips are lightly rounded and not tightly pursed. The rounding is noticeable but more relaxed than ㅜ. |
| Listen carefully and repeat after me. |
| ㅜ ㅗ |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ㅜ ㅗ (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ㅜ ㅗ |
| Notice how the rounding is noticeable in ㅗ but more relaxed than ㅜ. |
| Listen and repeat or speak along with me. |
| Ready? |
| 술 (sul)/솔 (sol) |
| "liquor"/"brush" |
| (space for repetition) |
| 술 (sul)/솔 (sol) |
| "liquor"/"brush" |
| 국 (guk)/곡 (gok) |
| "soup"/"song" |
| (space for repetition) |
| 국 (guk)/곡 (gok) |
| "soup"/"song" |
| 굽다 (gup-da)/곱다 (gop-da) |
| "to be bent"/"to be pretty" |
| (space for repetition) |
| 굽다 (gup-da)/곱다 (gop-da) |
| "to be bent"/"to be pretty" |
| 굴 (gul)/골 (gol) |
| "cave"/"goal" |
| (space for repetition) |
| 굴 (gul)/골 (gol) |
| "cave"/"goal" |
| Let's review. Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then, repeat after me, focussing on pronunciation. |
| Do you remember the sound pronounced with the lips rounded and in a forward position? |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| ㅜ |
| (1) |
| ㅜ |
| And the sound pronounced with the lips rounded but not as tightly as the sound produced towards the back of your mouth? |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| ㅗ |
| (1) |
| ㅗ |
| Let's practice. |
| Compare the sounds in these two words. |
| 술 (sul)/솔 (sol) |
| "liquor"/"brush" |
| (1) |
| 술 (sul)/솔 (sol) |
| "liquor"/"brush" |
| (1) |
| Let's try another. |
| 국 (guk)/곡 (gok) |
| "soup"/"song" |
| (1) |
| 국 (guk)/곡 (gok) |
| "soup"/"song" |
| (1) |
| Now, listen to the following sentences. |
| 술을 마시면서 솔로 머리를 빗어요. |
| (Sur-eul ma-si-myeon-seo sol-lo meo-ri-reul bis-eo-yo.) |
| "I drink liquor while brushing my hair with a brush." |
| (3 sec pause) |
| 술, 솔 |
| 국을 먹으면서 곡을 써요. |
| (Gug-eul meog-eu-myeon-seo gog-eul sseo-yo.) |
| "I write a song while eating soup." |
| (3 sec pause) |
| 국, 곡 |
| Read the following sentence out loud, focussing on the different sounds. |
| (pause) |
| 국을 먹으면서 곡을 써요. |
| (Gug-eul meog-eu-myeon-seo gog-eul sseo-yo.) |
| "I write a song while eating soup." |
| (3 sec pause) |
| 국, 곡 |
| By the way, if you watched til the end |
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