R-controlled Vowels > How to pronounce ‘or’ /ɔr/ > Common ‘or’ /ɔr/ spellings > Practice pronouncing ‘or’ /ɔr/

How to pronounce the 'or sound' /ɔr/

The 'or sound' /ɔr/ is an r-controlled vowel. Technically this sound is two distinct sounds (vowel sound+r sound). It is presented here under the name 'or sound' /ɔr/ to distinguish the fact that the vowel portion of the sound is different from the various pronunciations commonly used for the 'o' spelling.

The 'or sound' /ɔr/ begins with lips rounded. The tongue is pushed back and held middle-low in the mouth, similar to the beginning of a 'long o' /oʊ/ sound. Although the International Phonetic Alphabet transcription shows that the or sound begins with the symbol used for the 'aw sound' /ɔ/, note that the tongue is not as far back as it is during that sound.

To transition to the /r/ portion of the sound, the lips relax and the body of the tongue moves upward and forward. The mid-section of the tongue raises so the sides of the tongue touch the middle teeth. The air travels over the body of the tongue to create the /r/ portion of the sound. (NOTE: The secondary method of producing the /r/ may be used to produce second portion of the /ɔr/ instead of this technique.)