[net.nlang] 'ooo' vs. 'u'

msj@warwick.UUCP (Mike Joy) (02/17/86)

>>> Then there was the difference between Root (Rooot) & Root (Rut).  The
>>> folks would always correct us if we slipped into Rut.  But other people
>>> used it.  (BTW: as in plant roots).
 
>> I have a friend from Atlanta who corrects me every time I pronounce
>> "root" and "roof" with the vowel from "book" rather that "tooth".
>> He says that I pronounce it the way hillbillies do, and that educated
>> people know better.  If I listen to people from my home town (southeastern
>> Wisconsin) they all speak as I do.  In fact, the "tooth" sound strikes
>> me as a bit pretentious, as though the speaker were trying to sound
>> overly educated.  Are we all hillbillies up here or has my Southern 
>> friend just decided his way is the only right way in spite of evidence
>> to the contrary?  Over what geographical areas does one pronunciation
>> or the other hold sway?  How about radio and tv announcers: what do they 
>> get taught to say?
 
>Growing up in Montana, I always pronounced "root" and "roof" as
>in "look."  It wasn't until I moved to California that I heard
>the "loose" pronunciation of these words.  If this is hillbilly,
>so be it.  (No Montanan need apologise for the land he lives in!)

I don't understand. ALL the words with 'oo' mentioned here can have at least 2
different pronunciations, and I can't imagine who's saying what in what
way ... ! For the record, my current understanding of pronunciation is:

Word		English (OED)	Scottish	"Posh" English
root		rooot		rooot		rut
roof		rooof		rooof		ruf
tooth		toooth		tuth		tuth
look		luk		loook		luk
loose		looose		looose		looose
book		buk		boook		buk

But other variations are common ...