Diphthong and 8 Types of Diphthongs Sounds with Examples! Discovering how to pronounce diphthongs correctly is a valuable skill for any English language learner. Whether you’re just learning the basics of pronouncing words or looking to refine your accent, mastering this unique vocal sound can open up an array of new linguistic possibilities! In this blog post, we’ll take an in-depth look at what a diphthong is, explore the 8 types of diphthongs commonly found in English, and provide examples so that you can learn how to say them correctly. There’s no better time than now to refine your pronunciation and start on the path towards fluency!
Table of Contents
What is a diphthong in English?
A diphthong is a type of vowel sound that is produced when two vowels are pronounced consecutively. The first vowel is much stronger than the second, and the two merge to form one sound. A diphthong in English is a type of speech sound that combines two vowels into one syllable. It differs from a monophthong, which is one vowel sound that creates one syllable in words like “fly”.
Examples of Diphthong
Examples of diphthongs in English can be found in words such as “toy”, “noun” and “site”. Typically, the first part of a diphthong starts out strong and becomes weaker by the end of the syllable. When two vowels are combined together through diphthongs, it helps create more nuanced, interesting word pronunciations for the language. Here are examples of each type, along with the corresponding IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) symbols:
- /ɪə/ – near, fear
- /eə/ – bear, care
- /eɪ/ – day, say
- /aɪ/ – buy, try
- /aʊ/ – out, loud
- /oʊ/ – no, go
- /ɔɪ/ – joy, boy
- /juː/ – few, new
8 Types of Diphthongs Sounds with Examples
1- /ei/ Diphthong
The /ei/ diphthong is made up of the vowel sounds /e/ and /i/. This diphthong is typically found in words of French origin, such as “deity” and “vein”. It can also be found in words of Greek origin, such as “phonics” and “chiropractor”. The /ei/ diphthong is also common in words that are derived from Latin, such as “Reid” and “weird”.
Examples
Here are some other examples of words that contain the /ei/ diphthong:
“eight”, “they”, ” weight”, “neighbour”, and “stein”.
2- /ɪu/ Diphthong
The /ɪu/ diphthong is made up of the vowel sounds /ɪ/ and /u/. This diphthong is found in a variety of words, including many that are of French origin, such as “suitor” and “fruit”. It can also be found in words of Latin origin, such as “delirium” and “orbital”. The /ɪu/ diphthong is also common in words that are derived from Greek, such as “museum” and “symposium”.
Examples
Here are some other examples of words that contain the /ɪu/ diphthong:
“suit”, “fruit”, “fluid”, “ruin”, and “build”.
3- /aʊ/ Diphthong
The /aʊ/ diphthong is made up of the vowel sounds /a/ and /ʊ/. This diphthong is found in a variety of words, including many that are of Anglo-Saxon origin, such as “mouth” and “house”. It can also be found in words of Latin origin, such as “noun” and “fraud”. The /aʊ/ diphthong is also common in words that are derived from Greek, such as “sauce” and “causal”.
Examples
Here are some other examples of words that contain the /aʊ/ diphthong:
“south”, “mouth”, “hound”, “OUNCE”, and “bounce”.
4- /ɔɪ/ Diphthong
The /ɔɪ/ diphthong is made up of the vowel sounds /ɔ/ and /i/. This diphthong is found in a variety of words, including many that are of Anglo-Saxon origin, such as “boy” and “toy”. It can also be found in words of Latin origin, such as “annoy” and “royal”. The /ɔɪ/ diphthong is also common in words that are derived from Greek, such as “oil” and “spoil”.
Examples
Here are some other examples of words that contain the /ɔɪ/ diphthong:
“soy”, “joy”, “noise”, “point”, and “coin”.
5- /ʊə/ Diphthong
The /ʊə/ diphthong is made up of the vowel sounds /ʊ/ and /ə/. This diphthong is found in a variety of words, including many that are of Anglo-Saxon origin, such as “sure” and “cure”. It can also be found in words of Latin origin, such as “inure” and “mature”. The /ʊə/ diphthong is also common in words that are derived from Greek, such as “tour” and “sculpture”.
Examples
Here are some other examples of words that contain the /ʊə/ diphthong:
“pure”, “cure”, “moor”, “poor”, and “flour”.
6- /eə/ Diphthong
The /eə/ diphthong is made up of the vowel sounds /e/ and /ə/. This diphthong is found in a variety of words, including many that are of Anglo-Saxon origin, such as “bear” and “care”. It can also be found in words of Latin origin, such as “fear” and “rear”. The /eə/ diphthong is also common in words that are derived from Greek, such as “hare” and “stare”.
Examples
Here are some other examples of words that contain the /eə/ diphthong:
“where”, “there”, “wear”, “tear”, and “pear”.
7- /ɪə/ Diphthong
The /ɪə/ diphthong is made up of the vowel sounds /ɪ/ and /ə/. This diphthong is found in a variety of words, including many that are of Anglo-Saxon origin, such as “beer” and “cheer”. It can also be found in words of Latin origin, such as “deer” and “sheer”. The /ɪə/ diphthong is also common in words that are derived from Greek, such as “fiend” and “clearing”.
Examples
Here are some other examples of words that contain the /ɪə/ diphthong:
“near”, “ear”, “here”, “seriously”, and “fierce”.
8- /ʊə/ Diphthong
The /ʊə/ diphthong is made up of the vowel sounds /ʊ/ and /ə/. This diphthong is found in a variety of words, including many that are of Anglo-Saxon origin, such as “poor” and “door”. It can also be found in words of Latin origin, such as “floor” and “more”. The /ʊə/ diphthong is also common in words that are derived from Greek, such as “myrrh” and “borough”.
Examples
Here are some other examples of words that contain the /ʊə/ diphthong:
“tour”, “museum”, “resume”, and “parachute”.
Diphthong Words List
- straw
- law
- saw
- cause
- haul
- author
- toy
- boy
- coy
- coin
- noise
- oil
- cow
- now
- flower
- cloud
- house
- loud
- clown
- owl
- town
- brown
- couch
- found
- out
- tower
- south
- mouse
- round
- wow
- annoy
- ploy
- join
- voice
- boil
- soy
- point
- loyal
- square
- air
- their
- where
- say
- freight
- wave
- they
- appear
- beer
- period
- here
- over
- go
- trope
- destroy
- choice
- jury
- pure
- ensure
- duel
Categories of Diphthong
Diphthongs are classified by linguists into several categories in order to classify their many sounds.
- Falling diphthongs
- Rising diphthong.
- Closing diphthongs
- Narrow diphthongs
- Wide diphthongs
1- Falling diphthongs
A falling diphthong is a diphthong in which the vowel sound starts out as a relatively high vowel (such as /i/ or /u/) and then “falls” to a lower vowel sound (such as /a/). The word “cow” is an example of a falling diphthong since it starts with the /k/ sound, followed by the /aʊ/ diphthong.
2- Rising diphthongs
A rising diphthong is a diphthong in which the vowel sound starts out as a relatively low vowel (such as /a/) and then “rises” to a higher vowel sound (such as /i/). The word “house” is an example of a rising diphthong since it starts with the /h/ sound, followed by the /aʊ/ diphthong.
3- Closing diphthongs
A closing diphthong is a diphthong in which the vowel sound starts out as a relatively high vowel (such as /i/) and then “closes” to a lower vowel sound (such as /u/). The word “book” is an example of a closing diphthong since it starts with the /b/ sound, followed by the /ʊk/ diphthong.
4- Narrow diphthongs
A narrow diphthong is a diphthong in which the two vowel sounds are relatively close to each other in terms of vowel height. The word “buy” is an example of a narrow diphthong since it starts with the /b/ sound, followed by the /aɪ/ diphthong.
5- Wide diphthongs
A wide diphthong is a diphthong in which the two vowel sounds are relatively far from each other in terms of vowel height. The word “boy” is an example of a wide diphthong since it starts with the /b/ sound, followed by the /ɔɪ/ diphthong.
Diphthongs (Infographics)
Download PDF Book
You can Download PDF book of diphthongs.
