English | Learning Diphthongs in English
The word "diphthong" comes from the Greek and means "two voices" or "two sounds." In phonetics, a diphthong is a vowel in which there is a noticeable sound change within the same syllable. (A single or simple vowel is known as a monophthong.) The process of moving from one vowel sound to another is called gliding, which is why another name for a diphthong is a gliding vowel but they are also known as compound vowels, complex vowels, or moving vowels. The sound change that turns a single vowel into a diphthong is called diphthongization. Diphthongs are sometimes referred to as "long vowels" but this is misleading. While vowel sounds do change in a diphthong, they do not necessarily take more time to say than a monophthong.
Diphthongs in American English How many diphthongs are there in the English language? It depends on which expert you ask. Some sources cite eight, others as many as 10. Even syllables containing a single vowel can contain a diphthong. The rule of thumb is: If the sound moves, it’s a diphthong; if it's static, it’s a monophthong. Each of the following diphthongs is represented by its phonetic symbol.
/aɪ/ This diphthong creates sounds similar to "eye" and most often occurs with letter combinations that include /i/, /igh/, and /y. Examples: crime, like, lime
/eɪ/ This diphthong creates sounds similar to “great” and is most often used with letter combinations that include /ey/, /ay/, /ai/ and /a/. Examples: break, rain, weight
/əʊ/ This diphthong creates sounds similar to “boat” and most often occurs with letter combinations that include /ow/, /oa/ and /o/. Examples: slow, moan, though
/aʊ/ This diphthong creates sounds similar to “ow!” and most often occurs with letter combinations that include /ou/ and /ow/. Examples: brown, hound, now
/eə/ This diphthong creates sounds similar to “air” and most often occurs with letter combinations that include /ai/, /a/, and /ea/. Examples: lair, stair, bear
/ɪə/ This diphthong creates sounds similar to “ear” and most often occurs with letter combinations that include /ee/, /ie/ and /ea/. Examples: beer, near, pier
/ɔɪ/ This creates sounds similar to “boy” and most often occurs with letter combinations that include /oy/ and /oi/. Examples: oil, toy, coil
/ʊə/This diphthong creates sounds similar to “sure” and most occurs with letter combinations that include /oo/, /ou/, /u/, and /ue/. Examples: lure, pure, fur
Today, let's learn about English Diphthongs with Ditsay.
Tutor: Lisa Gablehouse
Hi! My name is Teacher Lisa! I am so excited to meet you! I have a Bachelors of Arts in Social Studies from the University of California, Irvine and a Masters of Education from Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. I also spent one semester in Salzburg Austria and a summer in Villadolid Spain learning how to work with children learning English for the first time. I was a public school educator for 8 years teaching grades Pre-K thru 4th grade in Tennessee, Texas, Florida, and California. I have taught in English only classrooms, ESL classrooms, and in Dual-Language classrooms. I love to use silliness, humor, and toys to help make learning fun for your child! I love to help children enjoy learning!