The /ɜ/ sound

Tongue	The middle part of the tongue lifts towards the roof of the mouth in the middle. The front of the tongue hangs down. But it does not touch anything.
Lips	The corners of the lips come in, pushing the lips away from the face.
Vocal Chords	The vocal cords vibrate.

Examples of words with the /ɜ/ sound

herder /ˈ h ɜ r d ə r/ /ˈhɛr-dər/	Pronounced by Kendra
burpees /ˈ b ɜ r p ɪ z/ /ˈbɜrp-ɪz/	Pronounced by Joanna
diversity /d ɪ ˈ v ɜ r s ə t i/ /dɪ-ˈvɜr-sɪ-tɪ/	Pronounced by Ivy
firm /f ɜ r m/ /ˈfɜrm/	Pronounced by Kevin
conserving /k ə n ˈ s ɜ r v ɪ ŋ/ /kən-ˈsɜr-vɪŋ/	Pronounced by Joanna
courage /ˈ k ɜ r ə ʤ/ /ˈkɜr-ɪʤ/	Pronounced by Ivy
dirty /ˈ d ɜ r t ɪ/ /ˈdɜr-tɪ/	Pronounced by Kimberly
universe /ˈ j u n ə ˌ v ɜ r s/	Pronounced by Matthew
heard /h ɜ r d/ /ˈhɜrd/	Pronounced by Kimberly
usurping /ˌ j u ˈ s ɜ r p ɪ ŋ/	Pronounced by Ivy