What is the phonetics of diphthongs in English?
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First of all, you should know that a diphthong is the result of combining two vowel sounds, but be careful, this does not mean there must be two vowels together for there to be a diphthong, but simply two vowel sounds. So, to recognize when there is a diphthong, phonetics will be very helpful.
At ABA English we know it is important for you to know how it is pronounced in English, so we have prepared a series of tools to help you. You will see that with our grammar video lessons you not only learn the correct construction of sentences but also the vocabulary and pronunciation you will need to handle yourself in English in any situation.
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THE ENGLISH PHONETICS OF DIPHTHONGS IN ENGLISH
English phonetics of words will show you when there is a diphthong and how you should pronounce it. These symbols, part of the international phonetic alphabet, represent the sounds of all languages spoken, including English and Spanish. So, let’s see, phonetically, the eight English diphthongs:
- /eɪ/ which has a sound similar to the combination Spanish ‘ei’
- /aɪ/ which has a sound similar to the combination Spanish ‘ai’
- /ɔɪ/ which has a sound similar to the combination Spanish ‘oi’
- /əʊ/ which has a sound similar to the combination Spanish ‘ou’
- /aʊ/ which has a sound similar to the combination Spanish ‘au’
- /ɪə/ which has a sound similar to the combination of Spanish ‘iae’
- /eə/ which has a sound similar to the combination Spanish ‘eae’
- /ʊə/ which has a sound similar to the combination Spanish ‘uae’
Note: In diphthongs ending in schwa, that is, in this symbol /ə/, we have put the Spanish sound ‘ae’ as a graphic simplification. However, you should keep in mind that the pronunciation of the phoneme schwa, which does not exist in our language, is the sound produced when positioning the mouth as to say ‘a’, and say ‘e’, not the one that comes from saying an ‘a’ and then the ‘e’.
THE PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION OF DIPHTHONGS IN ENGLISH
Of course, to help you see it better, we need some examples of diphthongs. Let’s see:
- /eɪ/ – day (day) would sound similar to ‘dei’
- /aɪ/ – sky (sky) would sound similar to ‘skai’
- /ɔɪ/ – toy (toy) would sound similar to ‘toi’
- /əʊ/ – no (no) would sound similar to ‘nou’
- /aʊ/ – cow (cow) would sound similar to ‘cau’
- /ɪə/ – hear (hear) would sound similar to ‘hiae’ (remember that the English ‘h’ is pronounced like a small exhalation)
- /eə/ – air (air) would sound similar to ‘eae’
- /ʊə/ – tour (tour) would sound similar to ‘tuae’
HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR PRONUNCIATION IN ENGLISH
Like any other skill, pronunciation in English requires practice to master it, especially for those sounds that do not exist in Spanish, such as the schwa. To improve your pronunciation, we suggest you pay attention to how native speakers pronounce and try to imitate them.
At first, it will be best to speak slowly so you can pay more care and attention to the way you pronounce, this way you will avoid mistakes.
Keep in mind that it might take some time to master certain sounds, the important thing is to enjoy speaking English as you keep practicing.
If you want to practice with the best exercises, try our course.
The different diphthongs in English
Let’s look at the different diphthong phonemes in English along with examples:
| iə
near | eə
air | əʊ
go | aʊ
now |
| ei
say | ai
eye | ɔi
boil |
Let’s look at the different diphthong phonemes in English along with examples:
| iə nea |
| ei say |
| eə air |
| ai eye |
| əʊ go |
| ɔi boil |
| aʊ now |
Practice the different diphthong phonemes in English
Classify the following words according to the phoneme of the underlined diphthongs:
eight (eight), fine (fine), sure (sure), goat (goat), clear (clear), how (how), here (here), out (out), bay (bay), sexual (sexual), where (where), noise (noise), material (material), home (home), fate (fate), five (five), hair (hair), boat (boat), life (life), coin (coin), pure (pure), near (near), chair (chair), ground (ground), snail (snail), boy (boy), during (during), fair (fair), snow (snow), house (house), time (time), join (join).
Answers:
- iə = here, near, clear, material
- eə = where, fair, hair, chair
- əʊ = home, goat, boat, snow
- aʊ = out, ground, house, how
- ei = eight, fate, bay, snail
- ai = fine, five, life, time
- ɔi = boy, join, coin, noise
- ʊə = pure, sexual, during, sure
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Other links of your interest:
- How to pronounce sh in English
- How to pronounce th in English
- How to pronounce u in English
- How to pronounce consonants in English
- How to pronounce vowels in English
- How to pronounce diphthongs in English
- Pronunciation mistakes in English
- English accents
- Phonetic English alphabet
- Improve English pronunciation
Practice diphthong phonemes in English with sentences
Keep practicing with the learned diphthongs using sentences:
- Pronunciation of the phoneme /iə/.
You can find this clear material here.
(You can find this clear material here).
There is a clean atmosphere here.
(There is a clean atmosphere here).
- Pronunciation of the phoneme /eə/.
I have to repair this chair.
(I have to repair this chair).
I wasn’t aware that the bear was beside me.
(I wasn’t aware that the bear was beside me).
- Pronunciation of the phoneme /əʊ/.
Come home as it is about to snow!
(Come home as it is about to snow!).
If he borrows your new car, you’d better follow him.
(If he borrows your new car, you’d better follow him).
- Pronunciation of the phoneme /aʊ/.
How is the ground of your house?
(How is the ground of your house?).
- Pronunciation of the phoneme /ei/.
If you wait for two days, you will play the main match.
(If you wait for two days, you will play the main match).
- Pronunciation of the phoneme /ai/.
It’s time to go to my party, it will be fine.
(It’s time to go to my party, it will be fine).
- Pronunciation of the phoneme /ɔi/.
That boy always takes some coins and buys a lot of toys.
(That boy always takes some coins and enjoys buying sweets).
- Pronunciation of the phoneme /ʊə/.
Tourists are sure that they will have a nice time during the tour.
(Tourists are sure that they will have a nice time during the tour).
