Pronunciation diff "Morning" and "Mourning"

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Williamyh

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Hi Everybody,

I don't know how to classify the pronunciation of "Morning" and "Mourning", when I heard the TV news, both of these words seem to have a same pronunciation, please advise.

W
 

Tdol

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I pronounce them the same way.
 

Raymott

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BobK

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I pronounce them the same way.
So do I. But the diphthong /ʊǝ/ is in a state of flux. Most dictionaries say that there are 44 English phonemes; but Longmans - in the interactive IPA alphabet distributed with New Cutting Edge, only give 43. They don't include /ʊǝ/.

For example, some people (many - including me) pronounce 'door' with an /ɔ:/ sound; (I don't usually say 'rhymes with', for reasons I've discussed elsewhere, but for me this is a homophone of 'daw' - the bird, more often met in the compound 'jackdaw'. {Hmm, is that a male, a female being, properly, 'jilldaw'... NB this isn't a serious speculation.;-)} Someone who does something is a 'doer' (/du:ǝ), and if he doesn't enjoy it he might have a 'dour' face /dʊǝ/.

But I do distinguish 'pore/paw' from 'poor': /pɔ:/ but /pʊǝ/. Many people don't.

I suspect that speakers of extreme RP might use the same vowel distinction for 'morning/mourning'. But if they do, they're in a tiny (and vanishing) minority.

b
 
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