National University of Singapore
Centre for English Language Communication
ES5001 (B) SPEAKING & LISTENING
PRONUNCIATION UNIT FIVE
Diphthongs
Dipthongs are often thought to be a combination of two vowel sounds, pronounced to form one syllable. In reality, a dipthong is a gliding sound.
Unlike in the production of simple vowels like /e/ and /u:/, where the jaw, tongue and lips do not move, during the articulation of a diphthong, the jaw, tongue and lips make a gliding movement from the first element of a diphthong to the second. Observe this difference when saying “egg” and “air”. The tongue starts in one vowel position and glides towards another by the most direct route.
The first element of a diphthong is louder than the second element.
Classification of Frequently Used Diphthongs
|
eɪ |
əʊ |
aɪ |
aʊ |
ɔɪ |
Example |
pain |
pole |
pine |
pound |
boy |
Tongue position |
mid-front gliding up toward /i:/
|
mid-back gliding up toward /u:/ |
moves low central to high front |
moves low central to high back |
moves low back to high front |
Jaw position |
begins lower than /æ/ but rises during glide |
begins higher than /ɔ:/, rises more during glide
|
rises with tongue, closes |
rises with tongue, closes |
rises with tongue, closes |
Lip position |
spread more during glide to /i:/ |
very rounded, closing like a camera shutter
|
moves from open to slightly parted and spread
|
moves from open to slightly parted and round |
moves from oval to slightly parted and spread |
More examples |
mate main weigh bathe |
boat tone foe goal hold |
might mine mile sigh tire |
bout town towel gown hound
|
point loiter coy boil noise
|
Three other diphthongs are /ɪə/, /ʊə/ and /eə/.
1. THE DIPTHONG /eɪ/
/eɪ/ is often mispronounced as /e/.
By failing to raise the tongue towards /ɪ/ eight becomes /et/, make /mek/ and take /tek/.
Or when there is too much raising of the tongue /eɪ / becomes /ei:/, resulting in /ei:t/, /mei:k/ and /tei:k/.
Exercise 1: Say the following, avoiding the mistakes mentioned above.
cake fail rain date nail sane late cane sale
2. THE DIPTHONG /əʊ/
To make this sound, first pronounce /ə/, then move up and back towards /ʊ/.
The diphthong /əʊ/ is difficult when followed by /l/ or /n/. Try saying /əʊ/ + /l/ with a break between or /ə / + /ʊl/, then run them together.
old əʊ - ld
hole hə - əʊl
fold fə - ʊld
Try doing this with the following words:
bone cone loan tone coal
Exercise 2:
Practise differentiating these sounds.
/ɜ:/ /əʊ/
kirk coke
curl coal
earn own
firm foam
gird goat
jerk joke
work woke
3. THE DIPHTHONG /ɑʊ/
To produce /ɑʊ/, start from the fully open position for /ɑ:/ and move towards /ʊ/.
Exercise 3:
Practise differentiating these sounds.
/a:/ /aʊ/ /əʊ/
barn bound bone
can’t count cone
shan’t shout shown
tart town tone
4. THE DIPHTHONG /aɪ/
To produce /aɪ/, start from the fully open position for /a:/ and move towards /ɪ/ .
Exercise 4:
Say the following words, taking care to raise the tongue towards /ɪ/.
height choir liar society tired riot
5. THE DIPHTHONG /ɪə/
During the production of /ɪə/ the distance between the jaws widens.
/ɪə/ is often mispronounced as /i:ə/
Word Correct Incorrect
beard bɪəd bi:ɪəd
near nɪə ni:ɪə
here hɪə hi:ɪə
Exercise 5:
Say the following clearly.
/i:/ /ɪ/ /ɜ:/ /ɪə/
bead bid bird beard
feet fit fur fear
glee gimmick gird gear
peace pit perch pier
6. THE DIPHTHONG /ɔɪ/
To produce /ɔɪ/ the back of the tongue is raised to half open position before it moves towards /ɪ/.
Exercise 6.
Say these words to a partner, taking care to sound the vowel or diphthong in each word. Can your partner hear which word of each minimal pair is read?
toil tore
loyal lawyer
ointment omen
annoy anonymous
oil all
7. THE DIPHTHONG /eə/
The first part of this diphthong is more open than the short vowel /e/ in pen, then glides to /ə/. The lips remain neutrally open.
Suggestion: Most native speakers use /æ/ as the starting point of this diphthong.
Exercise 7:
Read the following clearly.
there their hair glare spare
bear careful wear scarce care
8. THE DIPTHONG /ʊə/
To produce /ʊə/, the front of the back of the tongue is raised and then it moves towards /ə/.
/ʊə/ is often mispronounced as /u:ə/.
Suggestion: Practise the /ʊ/ sound first and then practise the glide from /ʊ/ to /ə/.
Exercise 8:
Contrasting /u:/ and /ʊə/.
/u:/ /ʊə/
blue bluer
queue cure
shoe sure
true truer
Exercise 9: Extended Practice
Identify the diphthongs in the following sentences and read the sentences.
1. He sold a whole gross of combs in Rome.
2. Penny wise, pound foolish.
3. Count the vowel sounds in this noun.
4. Beer, beer, Qingtao beer, makes me tear and cheer.
5. The poor steward endured the cruel treatment of his furious pilot.
6. Jane is late again, so she’ll be paid eighty cents less.
7. The annoyed oyster disturbed by the noise from the engines closed its flowery shell.
References:
Huang, R. (1983). English Pronunciation. HK: Hongkong University Press.
Celce-Murcia, M., Brinton, D.M., and Goodwin, J.M. (1996). Teaching Pronunciation. US: Cambridge University Press.
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