A diphtong refers to two adjacent vowel sounds occurring within the same syllable.
Diphthongs contrast with monophthongs, where the tongue or other speech organs do not move significantly and the syllable contains only a single vowel sound. For instance, in English, the word ah is spoken as a monophthong /ɑː/, while the word ow is spoken as a diphthong /aʊ/. Where two adjacent vowel sounds occur in different syllables—for example, in the English word re-elect—the result is described as hiatus, not as a diphthong.
Diphthongs often form when separate vowels are run together in rapid speech during a conversation. However, there are also unitary diphthongs, as in the English examples above, which are heard by listeners as single-vowel sounds (phonemes)
For the production of a diphthong there is a glide or a movement from one more open vowel position to another closer one within the same syllable.
There are 8 diphthongs: 5 closing diphthongs and 3 centring diphthongs.
1. Closing Diphtongs
- Closing diphthongs towards /ɪ/ → /eɪ, aɪ, ɔɪ/
- Closing diphthongs towards /ʊ/ → /aʊ, әʊ/
2. Centring Diphtons
- Glide towards /ә/ → /ɪә, eә, ʊә/
For a central diphthong there is a glide movement from a front or back position to a central one.
TRIPHTHONGS
Triphthongs in English are produced with closing diphthongs + schwa (ә)
- /eɪә, aɪә, ɔɪә/ → player, fire, loyal.
- /aʊә, әʊә/ → flower, lower.
In the next post, Laura is going to talk about Allophones. If you have any doubt or suggestion, please comment!
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