Lionello, after a very brief mental rake-over, I would say that most British English speakers pronounce “room” the same way as you do, although I would say that both forms of pronounciation are used for “room” on its own and that the long “oo” is slightly more “posh”. Those that have a regional accent, however, would pronounce both forms of “room” the same.

foolscap - 02 April 2007 07:52 PM

An older cousin of mine was actually living in Goleta when they burned the Bank of America down. (damned Hippies)

Not sure if it’s a small world or a small board, but I was a freshman at UCSB the year the B of A was burned (it was the 69/70 school year). UCSB is great. I’ll never forget seeing guys in wetsuits taking chemistry finals with their boards stacked in the corner of the lecture hall.