The central vowels are those made by arching the middle tongue toward the palate. They are (ur), (er), (u)

(ur) as in birth, dearth, worse

This sound is found in accented syllables that contain (r) with the lips unrounded. It is usually found in words which include the letters ur, or, ir, ear, er. An exception to this is the word colonel, which is pronounced as (kurnel) but the spelling of which does not include the letter r.

Drill Number 11

Initial

ermine, erstwhile, Erwin, herb, irk, irksome, urban, urbane, urchin, urge, urgent, Ursuline

Medial

adjourn, adverbial, berth, burst, colonel, concern, conserve, dearth, deserve, excursion, fern, germ, heard, hearse, immersion, incursion, jerk, lurk, mirth, murky, preserve, search, shirk, spurn, spurt, thirsty, thirty, Thursday, turf, Turkey

Final

bestir, blur, cur, fur, incur, occur, purr, recur, slur, spur, stir

Sentences

1. There is a dearth of, and search for, earnest workers at the State University.

2. The excursionists left very early this morning.

3. I have never worn an ermine coat because the climate and my earnings won't permit me.

4. I heard that curfew time has been shortened in the urban areas.

5. Let us not shirk our burden though it hurts.

6. Ursula was urged to marry the taciturn colonel.

7. Her swirling skirt was heard by the blind person.