The New Student's Reference Work/U

U (o͝o), the twenty-first letter, is a vowel, sometimes a semivowel. It is a rounded v, both being formerly used both as vowel and as consonant. Not till nearly 1700 was V restricted to expressing the consonant. The sound is produced by rounding the lips and raising the back of the tongue, and so u is called a labial vowel. The true primary sounds were the long u (ūse), as in tool, and the short u (bŭll), as in wood. U also has the sounds heard in actuate, rural, fulfill, urn, up and submit, the variations being due to the accent not falling on u. U is silent in antique, gauge, rogue. After g and q, u is a W as in guano, queen and also in suite.