Podcasts › The History of English Podcast

Episode 190: Union, Division and Unusual U

The History of English Podcast · Kevin Stroud · Jun 30, 2026 · 1h 20m

What's in this episode

Set against the English Civil War of the 1640s, this episode explains how the letter U split into several distinct long and short sounds. Kevin traces the origin of the difference between words like put and cut, and why northern England never picked up the change.

Questions it answers

Why do 'put' and 'cut' have different vowel sounds?

Put and cut split apart in southern England around 1600. Kevin Stroud of The History of English Podcast explains the foot-strut split and why the north kept the old sound.

Answered on The History of English Podcast

Episode page on the show's own site →