Description of speech sound - Diphthong

 

Description of speech sound

Diphthong 

A diphthong is a vowel sound in which the tongue moves from one position to another during pronunciation, so that the vowel sounds like a combination of two other vowels. The word "diphthong" comes from the Greek words "diphthongos," meaning "two sounds."

A diphthong is produced by the tongue moving from one position to another during pronunciation. This movement of the tongue creates a gliding or sliding effect, which is why diphthongs are sometimes called "gliding vowels."

 

In English, there are eight major diphthongs:

 

/aɪ/ as in "light"

/eɪ/ as in "play"

/ɔɪ/ as in "coin"

/aʊ/ as in "out"

/eə/ as in "pair"

/ɪə/ as in "dear"

/oʊ/ as in "slow"

/ʊə/ as in "sure"

 

These diphthongs can be divided into two categories: rising diphthongs and falling diphthongs.

 

Rising diphthongs start with a low vowel sound and end with a higher vowel sound. The tongue starts in a low position and then moves up towards the roof of the mouth. The following are the four rising diphthongs in English:

/aɪ/ as in "light"

/eɪ/ as in "play"

/ɔɪ/ as in "coin"

/ɪə/ as in "dear"

 

Falling diphthongs start with a high vowel sound and end with a lower vowel sound. The tongue starts in a high position and then moves down towards the bottom of the mouth. The following are the four falling diphthongs in English:

/aʊ/ as in "out"

/eə/ as in "pair"

/ʊə/ as in "sure"

/oʊ/ as in "slow"

 

Diphthongs are often found in stressed syllables, but they can also occur in unstressed syllables. For example, the word "about" has a falling diphthong in the unstressed first syllable.

 

Diphthongs are an important part of English pronunciation. They can help to distinguish between words that sound similar, such as "light" and "like". They can also add variety and expressiveness to speech.

 

Diphthongs are not always represented by two distinct vowel letters in the written language. For example, the diphthong /aɪ/ is often represented by the single vowel letter "i" in words like "light" and "night."

The pronunciation of diphthongs can vary depending on the dialect of English. For example, in some dialects, the diphthong /aʊ/ is pronounced with a more rounded vowel sound, as in the word "out."

Diphthongs can be combined with other sounds to create more complex vowel sounds. For example, the diphthong /aɪ/ can be combined with a glottal stop to create the sound of the word "high."

Diphthongs are an important part of English pronunciation. They can help to distinguish between words that sound similar, such as "light" and "like". They can also add variety and expressiveness to speech.

Diphthongs are not always represented by two distinct vowel letters in the written language. For example, the diphthong /aɪ/ is often represented by the single vowel letter "i" in words like "light" and "night."

The pronunciation of diphthongs can change depending on the stress pattern of the word. For example, the diphthong /aɪ/ is pronounced with a different vowel quality in the stressed syllable of the word "light" than it is in the unstressed syllable of the word "night."