035 z the english diphthongs

1

Prof. Francisco Zabala - 2016

The English Diphthongs
A diphthong is “a vowel sound where the tongue glides from one vowel position in the direction of another, within the same
syllable” (Finch & Ortíz-Lira, 1982: 186). Each of them is a unique contrastive phoneme made up of two elements. The first
element is clearly articulated, while the second element is never actually reached. As a result, it is the first element that can
be affected by clipping. In contrast, the second element may even be lost when a vowel follows (see smoothing and
levelling).

Classification of diphthongs:
1.

According to their prominence, they have traditionally been classified as either falling or rising. A falling diphthong
is, as described above, a vowel glide whose more prominent element is the first one. All the English diphthongs are
falling. In the past, authors referred to the weak sequence .h-?+
t-?.
as a rising diphthong, whose second element was
more prominent than the first. Nowadays, these sequences can be analysed as either made up of a .h-?+
t-?.
vowel
hiatus (i.e. two vowels that belong to different syllables) or as a sequence of a semi-vowel followed by schwa (i.e.
.i?+
v?.). To illustrate this point, we can see a falling diphthong in words such as fear .!eH?. and poor .!oT?., and
alternatively, a possible hiatus in easier .!h9y-h-?.and usual .!it9Y-t-?k. or their corresponding compressed versions
.!h9y-i?+
!it9Y-v?k..

2.

According to the direction of the glide, diphthongs can be either centring or closing. Centring diphthongs are those
whose gliding movement goes in the direction of the central vowel .?.. Closing diphthongs are vowel glides that move
towards a close position, either front-closing .H. or back-closing .T..

3.

According to the distance of the glide, diphthongs can be either wide or narrow. Wide diphthongs are those that
entail a wide tongue movement inside the mouth, while narrow diphthongs are those that show a gentler movement.
Falling

.dH+
`H+
NH+
`T+
?T+
H?+
d?+
T?.

Rising

.h-?=i?.
.t-?=v?.

Prominence

The English
Diphthongs

Centring

.H?+
d?+
T?.

Closing

Front
.dH+
`H+
NH.

Direction

Back
.`T+
?T.

Distance

Wide

Narrow



Vowel chart:

References:
Finch & Ortíz-Lira, 1982

.`H+
`T+
NH.
.dH+
?T+

H?+
d?+
T?.