Diphthongs

Dipthongs
Diphthongs are sounds during the articulation of which
the tongue starts in the position of a particular vowel
and move in the direction of the position of another.
What you need to know.
– English diphthongs have two IPA symbols because
they are made up of two mouth position.
– in other words, diphthongs are two short vowels
joined together, they are also called double vowels.
– many non-native speakers make some English
diphthongs as single vowels
Diphthongs in English
/eɪ/ place /pleɪs/, late /leɪt/, dangerous /ˈdeɪn.dʒə.rəs/
/oʊ/ home /hoʊm/, phone /foʊn/, global /ˈɡloʊ.bəl/
/aʊ/ mouse /maʊs/, brown /braʊn/, accountant /ə
ˈkaʊn.t̬ ənt/
/ɪə/ clear /klɪə/, fear /fɪə/, career /kəˈrɪə/
/eə/ care /keə/, wear /weə/, declare /dɪˈkleə/
/ɔɪ/ boy /bɔɪ/, toy /tɔɪ/, enjoyable /ɪnˈdʒɔɪ.jə.bəl/
/aɪ/ find /faɪnd/, bite /baɪt/, tiger /ˈtaɪ.ɡə/
/ʊə/ tour /tʊə/, pure /pʊə/, mature /məˈtʃʊə/
Closing Diphthongs
Diphthongs in which the glide is from one vowel
position to that of a close or high vowel may be called
closing diphthongs.
The closing diphthongs of English R.P are:
1. /ei/ as in make /meik/
2. / ɔi/ as in boy /bɔi/
3. /ai/ as in high /hai/
4. /əu/ as in go / gəu/
5. /au/ as in how /hau/
Closing Diphthongs
The closing diphthongs may be classified as follows:
i. Fronting diphthongs
ii. Retracting diphthongs
FRONTING DIPHTHONGS:
The diphthongs which glide in the direction of the front
vowel/i/ are called fronting diphthongs.
e.g. /ei/, / ɔi/, /ai/
RETRACTING DIPHTHONGS:
The diphthongs which glide in the direction of the back
vowel /u/ are called retracting diphthongs.
e.g. /au/, / əu/
Centring Diphthongs:

The diphthongs which glide in the direction of the

Central vowel / ə / are called centring diphthongs.
There are three centring diphthongs in English R.P.
They are:
/i ə/ as in ear, fear, tear
 /e ə / as in air, fare, care
/uə/ as in poor. Sure, tour
Triphthongs

A triphthong is a monosyllabic vowel combination of a

diphthong and the weak vowel /ə/.
A triphthong involves a quick but smooth movement of the
articulator from one vowel quality to another that passes over a
third one. E.g. trial /traiəl/, tire /taiə/.
Usually the closing diphthongs like /ai/, /ei/ and /au/ are
followed by the weak vowel / ə/ within a syllable in a word.
In words like ‘tire / taiə/ ‘hour’ /auə/, the closing diphthongs
/ai/ and /au/ are followed by the weak vowel / ə /.
Here the final vowel / ə / forms an inseparable part of the word.
Where the diphthong +/ ə/ is treated as a single unit, the
combination is called a triphthong.