How to Pronounce the Long O Sound in American English

The long o vowel sound in American English is another diphthong, or “moving” vowel. You can hear it very clearly in the word “no.”

We make this sound by starting with a new vowel sound. To start this sound, your lips should be in a rounded position, and your jaw will be low. Your tongue is flat on the bottom of your mouth.

Now your mouth will close slightly, your jaw will raise, and your tongue stays in the same position. This is the long “u” sound. You can see that long o is created with a short o sound followed by a long u sound, o-oo.

Don’t Hurry When You Say Long O

Take your time to say the long o sound.  It is called a “long vowel” for a reason! If you do not say both parts completely, you might change the word you are trying to say. For example, the first word in our list, “own,” needs the long o sound. If you say it too quickly, and forget the second half of the sound, you will say “on.” These words, “own” and “on,” are completely different, and your listener may not understand you.

Practice these words with me from John chapter 1. As usual, if there is a word you do not know, you can look up the meaning at WordReference.com.

own
those
only
Moses
no
know
Holy
follow
told
overcome

We’ve studied long a, long e, long i, and long o. Let’s talk about the next long vowel sound, long u.