English long vowels, diphthongs, triphthongsLecture 3

Long and short vowels aa:

Long vowels

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

This is also visible on a spectrogram: this is the pure vowel /a/

and this is the diphthong / a/. Notice how the formants (the dark bands) separate towards the end.

diphthongsMovement/glide from one vowel to anotherFrom constant/pure vowel to another vowel1st part longer and stronger2nd part shorter and quieter8 diphthongs; 2 groups: centring and closing ending in // ending in / I //

English diphthongs may cause difficulty

Nowhere is the English spelling system more bizarre than in its representation of diphthongs

First we will look at the closing group the pay, made, maid, reign, obey, soundThen we have the I, my, tie, sigh, either, eye, Thai, soundThen there is boy, choiceThen down, loudTo end the closing group, the most common diphthong in English, that of no, know,bone, foam, sew, though, dont, foe, crow

To start with the centring group, we have the most common, that of clear, deer, here, wier:Then air, where, wear, care, heir:Finally, there is a diphthong which is quite rare and is often realised as /:/ - tour, poor:

triphthongsThe most complex English vowel-type soundsA glide from one vowel to another and then to a third oneProduced rapidly and without interruptionComposed of: closing diphthongs + ///e/ /a/ // // /a/ + // layer liarroyal lower hour