the ongoing English usage

[Carol]

Catlady:
> > "Considering such famous English pronunciations as Wooster for
Worcestershire and Bedlam for (St Mary of) Bethlehem, I supposed
chitterlings was pronounced 'chitlins' for hundreds of years before
the spelling changed.
> 
> Geoff:
> Your phonetic representation of the pronunciation of Worcester isn't
quite right.
> 
> "Wusster" would be nearer the mark.

Carol responds:

Then, again, "oo" can be long, as in "too," or short, as in "wood."
I took Catlady's pronunciation to indicate the short "oo" of "wood."
At any rate, that's how I pronounce it.

Your "Wusster" I take to rhyme with "buster" or "fluster," neither of
which rhymes with Worcester if I'm correct.

I think the problem here is a lack of agreed upon symbols to represent
particular sounds. (Some people like the IPA. I hate it, and it can't
be reproduced with a standard keyboard in Yahoo to my knowledge.)

If you don't know what the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is,
click here

 http://www.arts.gla.ac.uk/ipa/IPA_chart_(C)2005.pdf

or just check the pronunciation symbols used in most standard
dictionaries.

I'll bet anything that your "Wusster" and Catlady's "Wooster" sound
exactly the same.

Carol, noting that in American English, "roof" can be pronounced with
either sound and wondering whether that's true in England as well