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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

mail

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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