Decoding exercises: "urV" and "urrV"

The letter U in the sequence "urr" normally sounds /ʌ/ in Received Pronunciation (as in hurry), in derived words it sounds /ɜː/ (as in furry) and it sounds /ə/ when unstressed (as in surrender).

In General American "urr" sounds /ɜːr/ or /ər/. In this accent "hurry" and "furry" rhyme.

The following table shows the sounds of "urV" and "urrV" in a stressed syllable. Exceptions, such as /ə/, are shown in the examples.

Examples

 * "ur"
 * /jʊə/: curable - curative - mural - purity - security
 * /jʊə, ʊə/: during
 * /ər/: featuring - guttural - measuring - picturing - pressuring - structuring
 * /jər/: accurate
 * /ʊ/: guru


 * "urr"
 * /ʌ, ɜː/: concurrence - concurrent - currant - current - currency - curry - flurry - hurricane - hurry - recurrence - surrogate
 * /ɜː/: blurring - blurry - concurring - furry - purring
 * /ə/: curriculum - resurrection - surrender - surround - surroundings

Variant pronunciations

 * figurative /ˈfɪɡərətɪv, ˈfɪɡjərətɪv/
 * natural /ˈnætʃərəl, ˈnætʃrəl/
 * assurance /əˈʃʊərəns, əˈʃɔːrəns/

Spelling anomalies

 * //: bury - burial