DIPHTHONGS 1

feargohouseIpainpeartourtoy hereknowhowmyplaytherepourvoice beerhomedowneithercavewherechoice hearboneloudeyereignair clearsewsighmadeheir dearcrowthaimaidwear Don’ttieobey foampay foe 2

Diphthongs 3

TRIPHTHONGS /ei/ + schwa /ai /+ schwa /au/ + schwa /oi/ + schwa schwa + /u/ + schwa playerfirehourroyallower liarpower 4

Minimal pairs Beware of heard a dreadful word that looks like beard and sounds like bird 5

While the position of the tongue is more or less stable for a pure vowel… 6 … a diphthong is characterised by a graceful movement from one point to another, for this reason they are also sometimes known as glides.

Technically, English diphthongs are divided into two groups: Closing diphthongs – which tend to move from an open to a close position Centring diphthongs – which tend towards a central position 7

First we will look at the closing group… 8

… the ‘pay’, ‘ made’, ‘maid’, ‘reign’, ‘obey’, sound: 9

Then we have the ‘I’, ‘my’, ‘tie’, ‘sigh’, ‘either’, ‘eye’, ‘Thai’, sound: 10

Then there is ‘boy’, ‘choice’: 11

Then ‘down’, ‘loud’: 12

To end the closing group, the most common diphthong in English, that of ‘no’, ‘know’,‘bone’, ‘foam’, ‘sew’, ‘though’, ‘don’t’, ‘foe’, ‘crow’: 13

Centring Diphthongs 14

To start with the centring group, we have the most common, that of ‘clear’, ‘deer’, ‘here’, ‘wier’: 15

Then ‘air’, ‘where’, wear’, ‘care’, ‘heir’: 16

Finally, there is a diphthong which is quite rare - ‘tour’, ‘poor’: 17

Pronunciation change Poor used to be pronounced like puer in Latin (and still is in some regions, e.g. Scotland). Now it tends to be pronounced as a long vowel (like “door” and “more”) Is there a difference between the pronunciation of “poor” and “paw”? 18

Finally: Diphthongs are the element in a language which are most liable to change. The majority of the characteristics of a given accent are usually to be found in this area, so understanding of the underlying mechanics is vital if one wants to understand accents and accent change. 19