H5-PRONUNCIATION
diphthongs
INTERNATIONAL PHONETIC ALPHABETIt is an alphabetic system based on the Latin script. It was designed by the International Phonetic Association in the late 19th century as a standardized representation of speech sounds in written form.
getting to know the ipa
Interactive English phonemic chart
useful tools
A diphthong is a single vowel sound that flows from one vowel sound to another within the same syllable.
diphthongs
The process of moving from one vowel sound to another is called gliding, which is why another name for a diphthong is a gliding vowel but they are also known as compound vowels, complex vowels, or moving vowels.
The thumb rule is: if the sound moves, it is a diphthong; if it is static, it is a monophthong. Diphthong: WAIT /eɪ/ Monophthong: SHEEP /i:/
most common diphthongs
Each of the following diphthongs is represented by its phonetic symbol.
And, a word can have more than one diphthong. For example: cowboy (ɑʊ and ɔι) highway (ɑι and ɑι) mealtime (ιə and ɑι)
They're everywhere. A diphthong can appear at the beginning of a word, the middle of a word, or the end of a word. For example: Beginning. out, oil, ache Middle. hound, boil, break End. slow, enjoy, prey
practice time
great job! :)
/eɪ/ This diphthong creates sounds similar to “great” and is most often used with letter combinations that include /ey/, /ay/, /ai/ and /a/. Examples: break, rain, weight
/ɪə/ This diphthong creates sounds similar to “ear” and most often occurs with letter combinations that include /ee/, /ie/ and /ea/. Examples: beer, near, pier
/ʊə/ This diphthong creates sounds similar to “sure” and most occurs with letter combinations that include /oo/, /ou/, /u/, and /ue/. Examples: lure, pure, fur
/eə/ This diphthong creates sounds similar to “air” and most often occurs with letter combinations that include /ai/, /a/, and /ea/. Examples: lair, stair, bear
/aɪ/ This diphthong creates sounds similar to "eye" and most often occurs with letter combinations that include /i/, /igh/, and /y/. Examples: crime, like, lime
/ɔɪ/ This creates sounds similar to “boy” and most often occurs with letter combinations that include /oy/ and /oi/. Examples: oil, toy, coil
/aʊ/ This diphthong creates sounds similar to “ow!” and most often occurs with letter combinations that include /ou/ and /ow/. Examples: brown, hound, now
/əʊ/ This diphthong creates sounds similar to “boat” and most often occurs with letter combinations that include /ow/, /oa/ and /o/. Examples: slow, moan, though
