# Look - pronunciation



## olives

Hi,

I never know whether I hear "look" with a "ô" (in french, but very high) or look as in "book".

I'm beset with doubt.  

Thanks.


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## la_cavalière

Look rhymes with book, hook, cook, took....


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## Katemonster

except in some north british accents where it sounds like Luke

But standard English rhymes with book, yes


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## olives

oh ok, thanks.

and but how is "luck" pronunced then? with a french "ô"?


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## Hakro

Hi Olives,

You're not the only one who hears "look" pronounced with something like a French "ô", usually in AE. The same for "book".


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## holyland

Katemonster said:


> except in some north british accents where it sounds like Luke
> 
> But standard English rhymes with book, yes


 
Lancashire rules, lass


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## olives

I find it nicer to say "look" with a french "ô" than the traditional double "o".

Sometimes I also have some trouble with "luck" and not sure what I'm hearing.


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## Katemonster

*Olives* : Am not sure what you mean by "ô"
If as in Rhône or môme, no, you can't say look that way!
If you mean ooooo as in ouvert or Luke, yes

As for luck, french doesn't really have that sound. But its u as in bugger, if that helps!

*Holyland *: Aye, lad/lass (How did you know it was Lancs and not Yorks?)


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## Katemonster

Of course, vowels differ a lot in different accents - I once heard an American talking about a lock, and couldn't figure out why he was talking about a _*lark...*_

To my ears, look and luck are very similar in standard/southern British English


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## olives

I met two american people beforehand and one of them was SUPER easy to understand.. incredibly easy! and the other was like impossible... Even if I stick to basic conversations, it was hard.

It's crazy how the accent/pronunciation difference can hinder you sometimes!


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## manthesnowmonster

wow! there really is no word in french that rhyms with "luck" in american-english. I think you'd really have to hear an American say it to undertand.


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## manthesnowmonster

I love accents. I've always wanted to go to England or Ireland and use the native accent... see if I can fool them into thinking I'm from there...


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## olives

that's strange... 'cause now I have a new problem. I tend to get "look" mixed up with "luck". Maybe according to the accents they would be pronunced the same or something... I don't know.


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## manthesnowmonster

no the two are very different. I wish I knew the universal pronunciation key. hmmm... le mot "me" en francais est tres similaire à "look" en anglais. Pas le même... mais proche.


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## sonsinimitables

I think no matter what sort of English you speak --> look rhymes with book, hook, cook, nook, crook, etc. (as someone previously posted)

Unfortunately, I can only speak for American English -- in American English "look" is pronounced like "le" in French -- with a "k" added to the end of it.

Depending on how much you want to know, you can check out: http : / / dictionary. reference. com/ browse / look.  At the bottom of the page, there's a little icon that will let you listen to the word.  I think it costs, though.

Hope this helps a little.
~sonsinimitables~


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## olives

This helped much. "Le + k", there we go then! So it means that the word "look" in American english is basically pronunced like "luck" in english! Which would explain my confusion.


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## Coppers

_Look_ is pronounced exactly as _luck_ in most of British English, as is _book, took, cook_, etc. _Boot, loon, moon_ and _root_ are pronounced differently though, more like the _u_ sound in French, I think.


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## Katemonster

olives said:


> This helped much. "Le + k", there we go then! .


 
Am sorry but this conjures up a picture of Peter Sellers as Inspecteur Cluseau doing  a silly French accent and talking about a 'berm'  (a bomb)


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## FAC13

Coppers said:


> _Look_ is pronounced exactly as _luck_ in most of British English.



Oh no! Only by people who would rhyme lorry with hurry!


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## Coppers

No, 'lorry' is pronounced quite differently


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## FAC13

I accept that we all pronounce things differently,  and that there is nothing wrong with that.

However, it is not right to say that  "_Look_ is pronounced exactly as _luck_ in most of British English". It isn't!


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## sonsinimitables

I agree with the last post -- in general, I wouldn't try to equate American English vowels with different British English vowels.  They're simply different sounds...

"le + k" is fairly close -- people will know what you're talking about, I think.


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## speedier

Katemonster said:


> Am sorry but this conjures up a picture of Peter Sellers as Inspecteur Cluseau doing a silly French accent and talking about a 'berm' (a bomb)


 
And - "is thert yeur meinky"  Is that your monkey 

But, "look" (rhymes with book, crook etc as has been said before)

enough of this frivolity (rhymes with tough, rough, stuff, stuck, and luck)

Back to the job in hand.


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## Coppers

_Meinky_?

The ou in 'enough' is pronounced the same as the oo in 'look'!

I suppose 'buck' is pronounced differently to 'book' to some then is it?


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## Outsider

I think that the French "ô" is a good enough approximation to the "oo" in English "look", although the actual sound is a lax vowel which French does not have (the upside down omega in the table here).


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## jetman

To me the *u* in l*u*ck sounds like the *o* in the French "c*o*mme".


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## Outsider

They are similar, but the French vowel is rounded.

"u" in "luck"
"o" in "comme"


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## Coppers

Then how does "lock" sound?


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## Outsider

"Lock" has the same vowel as "comme" in British RP. However, in American English the "o" in "lock" is more like a continental "a" ("ah").


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## jetman

I agree, Outsider.  Pronounce the o in "comme" but drop your jaw lower and I think you have it.


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## jetman

To this American lock sounds like the French lac.


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## Outsider

It does seem to be the same vowel. See the examples here.


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## JamesM

I agree that the French "le" + K is a good approximation of "look" as I would pronounce it. "Luck", to me, is pronunced something like L followed by the first vowel sound in the French word "feuille" (without the "ee" sound at the end), followed by K. 

At demo.acapela-group.com, the way the US English voice says "luck" is closest to how I would say it. It's a little difficult to hear as an isolated word, but if you type in something like, "What a stroke of luck", I think it will be easier to hear.

"Lock" is pronounced like the French "la" + K, in my opinion, only the vowel sound is deeper in the throat than "la".

edit:



jetman said:


> To this American lock sounds like the French lac.


 
Much better comparison!

Here's a great sentence to try at that site: "Look, just my luck: the door is locked!" It gives you a comparison of all three sounds in one sentence.


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## speedier

Coppers said:


> _Meinky_?
> 
> The ou in 'enough' is pronounced the same as the oo in 'look'!
> 
> I suppose 'buck' is pronounced differently to 'book' to some then is it?


 
Hi Coppers.

My reference to Meinky was in response to Katemonster, who had brought up the Pink Panther Films. It tries to spell out how Inspector Cluseau (Peter Sellers) said the word monkey in his funny strange French accent (to the supposedly blind man who was the look-out for the bank robbers).

And, yes, buck is pronounced differently to book (except in the Lancashire / Yorkshire dialects in your area, and possibly surrounding districts).

I suggest that you enter the words look, luck, enough, book, lock etc into the English - French dictionary on this site, and listen to the sounds that they make when you press the UK speaker icon. You might even try funny while you are at it.


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