Karel Kohout
Pronunciation of Poor What is the pronunciation of the word "poor"? Is the vowel pronounced as it is in the word "door" or "good"? Thanks.
May 28, 2017 8:43 PM
Answers · 8
3
As in "door."
May 28, 2017
1
Like door
May 28, 2017
Sorry Steve, but I don't understand it. In the macmillandictionary there is "pʊr" and if I look up the word "good" the pronunciation is "ɡʊd". So in both there is the sign "ʊ" - what's the difference between the pronunciation of "poor" and "good" then (meaning the vowel)? Moreover in the dictionary there is also the other pronunciation "pɔː(r)". If I look up the word "door" its pronunciation is "dɔː(r)". Again, I can't see any difference in the vowel.
May 29, 2017
As Steve has said, in general, they have different sounds, although it is slight enough that you can get away with using 'door' as your frame of reference. With my accent (West Midlands, UK), 'door' has a much longer vowel sound than 'poor'.
May 29, 2017
*In general*, "poor" doesn't sound like either "door" or "good". Some British people with strong regional accents pronounce "poor" like "door", but I'd say that that's a minority of people. See: http://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/dictionary/american/poor_1 http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/poor_1 pʊr, or something close to it, is the usual pronunciation. Then use the same dictionary to compare with "door" and "good" and see the difference.
May 29, 2017
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