Vowels CURE

The BCDP data indicate that  is typical (especially for younger speakers); [uə] is common for older speakers. Indeed, Wells (1982: 361) notes that the more con- servative Northern accents have [u:ə] or even , although these are receding in the face of the RP-type .

Chinn and Thorne (2001: 22) maintain that Bm speakers’ realization here is typically “similar to ‘ooa’” (), e.g. in cure, endure, lure, mature, poor, pure, sure, tour. For Mathisen (1999: 110), potential Black Country variants include , although Painter (1963: 30–31) has BC , realized as , with sporadic .