Lesson 17:
Diphthong
(a combination of two vowel sounds)
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A
diphthong is a speech sound that begins with one vowel sound and changes
to another vowel sound in the same syllable. Diphthongs
are very common in English, but vary greatly from region to region.
In English, there are two types of
vowel sounds: monophthongs and diphthongs.
A
monophthong is a vowel with a single sound, such as
the long E sound in "meet" and the UH sound (short U) in "rust." Monophthongs
make one single vowel sound in a syllable. You do not have to change the shape
of your mouth while saying the vowel sound. A diphthong is a more complex vowel
sound. The word diphthong comes
from the Latin word "diphthongus" and the
Greek word "diphthongos," meaning
"having two sounds." Diphthongs begin with one vowel sound and change
to another vowel sound in the same syllable. Your mouth position changes
slightly through the vowel sound.
Diphthongs are often (but not always) made when two vowels are next to each
other in the same syllable.
Try saying these words: (the diphthongs are in red)
It is hard to make complete
list diphthongs because the sounds can vary greatly by accent and dialect. A dialect
is a form of a language that is spoken in a certain area. In addition to the
basic sounds of the American English alphabet, pronunciation of words can vary
from dialect to dialect. There are eight major identified dialects in North
America and Canada. That's a lot of different ways of pronouncing words! Pronunciations of certain vowel sounds are
also different among various forms of English
(British, American, and Australian). Pronunciations in American English will
not always be the same as pronunciations in other forms of English. If you are
unsure how to pronounce a specific word, use an online dictionary
that has pronunciations in audio form. This will give you the most common
pronunciation of a word.
In this article, we will cover some of the most common diphthongs found
in American English.
/eɪ/ (Long A sound)
This diphthong is similar to the long A sound. It is
pronounced as a long A sound sliding into a long E sound.
Some dialects pronounce the long A sound as one single
sound (like in bake and late). Others pronounce it as two vowel sounds. It
really depends on where you live. People with southern accents (from the south
part of the United States) will stretch out the diphthong more.
Try saying these words with two vowel sounds: (the diphthong is in red)
/aɪ/
This diphthong is pronounced as a
long I sound sliding into a long E sound.
Again, this sound can vary from dialect to dialect. Some dialects pronounce the
long I sound in the following words as one single sound. Some dialects
pronounce the vowel sound more like the "AH" sound you would here in
"ball". Others pronounce it as two vowel sounds.
Try saying these words with two vowel sounds: (the diphthong is in red)
/ɔɪ/
This diphthong is pronounced as a long O sound that
quickly slides into a long E sound.
Try saying these words: (the diphthong is in red)
/ɪə/
This diphthong is pronounced as
a long E sound sliding
into an Ur sound.
Try saying these words: (the diphthong is in red)
/eə/
This
diphthong is pronounced as a long A
sound sliding into an Ur sound.
Try saying these words: (the diphthong is in red)
/aʊ/
This
diphthong is pronounced as a short A sound sliding
into an "oo"
sound.
Try saying these words: (the diphthong is in red)
/oʊ/
This
diphthong is often just pronounced as a single long O sound. As a diphthong, it
has a long O sound sliding
into an "oo"
sound.
Try saying these words using the two vowel sounds: (the diphthong is in
red)
Have you finished them
all? Great job!
Keep up the good work!
Well
done! You have completed the Diphthong lesson.
Let's move on...