Short vowels

FOOT

[ʊ] is the very widespread British Isles realization here, occurring in the varieties of all regions other than Orkney, Shetland and Scotland, and in Creole and RP. In Orkney, Shetland, and Scotland, a tensed [u] is heard, central or even fronted in Scotland according largely to the social profile of the speaker, with FOOT and GOOSE tending to fall together in these accents. The tensed central [u] is also found in British Creole, and in Northern Ireland, testimony to the close links of that area with Scotland. A fronted [Y] is heard in South- west England. Hypercorrection resulting from unease about the status of the STRUT [ʊ] seems to underlie realizations of FOOT as [ɤ] and [ə] in Northern and West Midland England.