MODULE 7.

DIPHTHONGS
IPA DIPHTHONGS

So far, we have seen mostly symbols for pure vowels, and with these symbols,
we can represent almost any sound made in common accents of English. However,
English is a language known for being full of diphthongs (double vowels) that are
represented by combinations of symbols.
Examples already given for this are [ʊu] and [oʊ], but there are many more. Here are
the most common examples:

/AJ/
Found in words like: my, wise, high, Thai, island
Letters that usually represent it: “i,” “y,” “igh,” “ai”
In Received Pronunciation, the diphthong is more of a /ɑj/ sound.

/EJ/
Found in words like: date, day, pain, whey, rein, neighbor
Letters that usually represent it: “a,” “ay,” “ai,” “ey,” “ei,” “eigh”
In Received Pronunciation, this diphthong is more of a /ɛj/ sound.

/ƆJ/
Found in words like: boy, noise, Euler
Letters that usually represent it: “oy,” “oi”
Oftentimes, this is pronounced as /oj/ instead.

/AW/
Found in words like: now, trout, Laos
Letters that usually represent it: “ow,” “ou”
Americans often pronounce this as a /æw/ sound.

/JU/
Found in words like: cute, ewe, use, new (in some accents), you
Letters that usually represent it: “u,” “ew”
Though the /j/ sound can be combined with mostly any vowel, it appears very often
before the /u/ sound, even without the appearance of the letter “y.”

IPA Symbol Word examples

 ɪə Near, ear, clear, tear, beer, fear

eə Hair, there, care, stairs, pear

eɪ Face, space, rain , case, eight

ɔɪ Joy, employ, toy, coil, oyster.

aɪ My, sight, pride, kind, flight

əʊ No, don’t, stones, alone, hole

aʊ Mouth, house, brown, cow, out

MODULE 8 BLENDING OF WORDS

A. BLENDING OF WORDS: STRESSING AND UNSTRESSING

Earlier, you learned that monosyllabic words are stressed when spoken in
isolation and that polysyllabic words have only one primary stress. Our knowledge of
stress must, however, go beyond words because we do not really talk in words, most of
the time, but in sentences, or at least phrases. In normal connected speech, words flow.
along smoothly with each other in uninterrupted fashion, such that one word seems to
merge with the next without any pause at all, resulting in a single breath unit. Saying
words as a breath unit and then hearing them as a single thought group is the process of
blending words.
 WHICH WORDS SHOULD BE STRESSED?
Words are divided into two classes: (1) content words which have meaning in
themselves, like literature, professor, and exciting; and function words, which have little
or no meaning other than the grammatical idea they express, such as the, at, shall. In
general, content words are stressed, but function words are left unstressed, unless the
speaker wishes to call special attention to them.
CONTENT WORDS, usually stressed, include
1. Nouns
2. Verbs (with a few exceptions listed under function words).
3. Adjectives
4. Adverbs
5. Demonstratives: this, that, these, those
6. Interrogatives: Who, what, why, etc.

FUNCTION WORDS, usually unstressed, include

1. Articles: the, a, an
2. Preposition: at, in, to, of, etc.
3. Personal pronouns: I, she; they, him, it, etc.
4. Possessive adjectives: her, their, my, its, your, etc.
5. Relative pronouns: who, which, that, whom
6. Common conjunctions: and, as, if, but, or
7. One used as a noun-substitute, as in the brown shoes and the black one.
8. The verbs be, have, will, can, would, shall, could, do, may, might and must.
These are verbs which may be used as auxiliaries: (You should evaluate it. They are
performing now.) Even when they are the principal verb in the sentence, they are usually
unstressed: (The concert was beautiful. Pilar has an amiable personality.) On the other
hand, they are stressed when they come at the end of a sentence (Better study while you
can), and when they are used in reiterative expressions (Good speech is an asset, isn't it?).

Module 7 Activity:

Instructions: Read each sentence carefully. Put a primary stress on all content words and
underline them.
1. The teacher strives to increase his knowledge and improve his skills.
2. The students will participate in the discussion of the new school rules.
3. Carlos accepted the challenge.
4. Roland was outstanding in drama and sports.
5. Diphtheria, measles and chicken pox are contagious.