USING CORRECT SOUNDS

WHAT ARE CONSONANT

BLENDS, DIPHTHONGS, AND
GLIDES?
 CONSONANT BLENDS

Two or three consonants joined and pronounced together as a unit are called consonant blends
which may be found only at the beginning or only at the end of words.
Initial consonant blends.
breathe climate from plum swell scrape

Final consonant blends

fact realm damp wind except bark

Some consonant blends may be found at the beginning or at the end of words.
skim, task smoke, symbolism
spice, wasp stanza, toast
 DIGRAPHS

consonant blends must be distinguished from digraphs which are also a combination of two
or three consonants but which produces a single sound when produced, such as in the
following examples:
chimney throw tough
gnome brick match
telephone drill moth

DIPHTHONGS

Two vowel sounds combined to form a single syllable are called diphthongs.
bargain deity coach
needle relief should
 GLIDES

Vowels combined with w and y form diphthongs called glides.

prawn elbow valley
brew payment boyhood

Know the different vowel sounds produced by diphthongs and glides in the following
table:
long a delay, survey, detail, great, reign
long e speak, breeze, ceiling, achieve, valley
long I guy, applied, eyelash
long o sew, meadow, groan, aloe, dough
long u nephew, rescue
short e Against, health
Other sounds may be produced by diphthongs and glides such as in the words straw,
frown, hood, bough, spoil, employ, fruit, and soliloquy.
Correct production of English sounds such as consonant blends, diphthongs, and
glides is essential to good pronunciation.
 EXERCISES

A. Go over “Where is the rain?” on page 6 and find all words with consonant
blends, diphthongs, and glides. List the words correctly in the following table.
Highlight each consonant blend, digraph, diphthongs and glide.
Words with Words with Words with Words with glides
consonant blends digraphs diphthongs
The They
They
wish
and
went
walk
stopped
shade
Talk
sigh