So-called “long oo”

The so-called “long oo” sound is an informal term that means the long sound of the digraph oo which is IPA phoneme /uː/.


 * Examples: goose, school, or zoo

The term “long oo” is not recommended because it's confusing to say "soup is pronounced with a long oo sound". If this sentence had to be spoken it would be better to say "soup is pronounced with the GOOSE vowel". Alternatively it could be said "soup' is pronounced like the long sound of the digraph oo".

Another reason why the terms “long oo” and “short oo” are not recommended is because the opposition between /uː/ and /ʊ/ (“short oo”) is not only a difference in length, but also a difference in quality.

Examples

 * boot - choose - cool - food - fool - loop - loose - moon - noon - pool - school - soon - tool - tooth - zoom