Trap 16 of 22 · French speakers
-or and -er say ER: doctor, actor, color
-or et -er se disent « er » faible : doctor, actor, color
What French speakers do
You use the French -eur ending, full and stressed: doc-TEUR, ac-TEUR, é-REUR.
The American rule
-or / -er / -our = a weak ER (the American R, no real vowel before it). The stress goes earlier in the word: DAHK-ter, AK-ter.
French -eur words (docteur, acteur, erreur, couleur) have English twins ending in -or. In American English that ending is just a weak -er — an R-colored uh, never stressed:
- doctor = DAHK-ter
- actor = AK-ter
- color = KUL-er
Two fixes at once: move the stress to the front, and replace the French eu + throat R with the American R alone.
The words
doctor
/ˈdɑktɚ/
✗dok-TEUR
✓DAHK-ter
“You should see a doctor.”
actor
/ˈæktɚ/
✗ak-TEUR
✓AK-ter
“He's my favorite actor.”
error
/ˈɛrɚ/
✗é-REUR
✓AIR-er
“There's an error in the file.”
motor
/ˈmoʊtɚ/
✗mo-TEUR
✓MOH-der
“The motor is too loud.”
director
/dəˈrɛktɚ/
✗di-Rek-TEUR
✓duh-REK-ter
“The director loved the script.”
professor
/prəˈfɛsɚ/
✗pRo-fé-SEUR
✓pruh-FES-er
“Our professor is from Chicago.”
author
/ˈɔθɚ/
✗o-TEUR
✓AW-ther
Also a TH word.
“Who is the author of this book?”
color
/ˈkʌlɚ/
✗ko-LEUR
✓KUL-er
“What color is your car?”
humor
/ˈhjumɚ/
✗ü-MEUR
✓HYOO-mer
“She has a great sense of humor.”
elevator
/ˈɛləˌveɪtɚ/
✗é-lé-va-TEUR
✓EL-uh-vay-der
“Take the elevator to the fifth floor.”
visitor
/ˈvɪzətɚ/
✗vi-zi-TEUR
✓VIZ-uh-der
“We had a visitor this morning.”