diphthong

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Jackson6612

#483323 Fri, 29 Feb 08 07:25 PM

diphthong
a vowel sound made by pronouncing two vowels quickly one after the other. For example, the vowel sound in 'main' is a diphthong.

The sounds of hate, bee, high, bone, few, find, are the basic diphthongs. The bold words in the following words are also diphthongs: make, note, sure.

According to the definition a diphthong consists of two vowels which are pronounced one after the other. I don't see any diphthongs in hate, bee, high, bone, few. This statement ''The bold words in the following words are also diphthongs: make, note, sure'' is also incorrect. The fact is the examples which seem incorrect to me have been copied from the dictionaries.

Jackson6612

Joined on Wed, Dec 27 2006

Senior Member (2,890)

NOTE: When you reply to my post, please look for mistakes in grammar, syntax or punctuation, and let me know of any suggestions you have. Thank you.

Vowels, Diphthongs

CalifJim

#483329 Fri, 29 Feb 08 07:41 PM

No, that's not really a very satisfactory explanation of diphthongs!

There are a few posts on vowels on the forum, which you should search.

Note also the difference between a vowel (an invisible sound) and a vowel letter (a visible written mark).

CalifJim

Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004

California

Veteran Member (16,572)

"There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche

Difference between, Vowels, Diphthongs

Jackson6612

#483496 Sat, 01 Mar 08 05:29 AM

Definitions from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary:

diphthong:
(phonetics) a combination of two vowel sounds or vowel letters
monophthong:
a speech sound that consists of only one vowel sound
triphthong:
a combination of three vowel sounds or vowel letters

The above definitions answer some of my questions.

CalifJim

Note also the difference between a vowel (an invisible sound) and a vowel letter (a visible written mark).

What is the difference between a vowel and a vowel letter?
I just take a vowel as a soul and a vowel letter as a body. The soul breathes life to the body.

Jackson6612

Difference between, Vowels, Phonetics, Diphthongs

Jackson6612

#483984 Sun, 02 Mar 08 12:00 PM

Definitions from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary:

diphthong:
(phonetics) a combination of two vowel sounds or vowel letters
monophthong:
a speech sound that consists of only one vowel sound
triphthong:
a combination of three vowel sounds or vowel letters

The above definitions use the expressions ''vowel sounds'' and ''vowel letters''. What is the difference between a ''vowel sound'' and ''vowel letter''?

Jackson6612

Difference between, Expressions, Vowels, Phonetics, Diphthongs

Jackson6612

#484332 Mon, 03 Mar 08 08:34 AM

Help!

Jackson6612

Cool Breeze

#484392 Mon, 03 Mar 08 10:39 AM

Jackson6612

diphthong:
(phonetics) a combination of two vowel sounds or vowel letters
monophthong:
a speech sound that consists of only one vowel sound
triphthong:
a combination of three vowel sounds or vowel letters

The above definitions use the expressions ''vowel sounds'' and ''vowel letters''. What is the difference between a ''vowel sound'' and ''vowel letter''?

Two vowel letters are something you can see with your eyes in a word like soul. Two vowel sounds is something you can hear with your ears only, not see in print: gave. In the last example there is only one written vowel, a. There may be languages in which diphthongs are pronounced even when they are not represented by a single vowel letter.

Cool Breeze

Joined on Fri, Apr 7 2006

Helsinki, Finland

Senior Member (2,705)

The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.- Mark Twain

Difference between, Expressions, Vowels, Phonetics, Diphthongs

Jackson6612

#484755 Tue, 04 Mar 08 10:18 AM

Hi CB,

Do you mean that vowel ''a'' in ''gave'' is accounted for two vowel sounds.But how can one vowel letter stand for two vowel sounds? And thanks for the help.

Jackson6612

Vowels

Cool Breeze

#484863 Tue, 04 Mar 08 02:48 PM

English is not pronounced as it is written. Gave is pronounced [geɪv].

Cool Breeze

Kooyeen

#484963 Tue, 04 Mar 08 06:18 PM

Hey CB, how about [gaɪv]? Seven, [aɪt], [noɪn], ten. Stick out tongue

Hi Jackson,
vowel letters are A, E, I, O, U.
Vowel sounds are all those sounds you use while speaking that are not consonants. The most common vowel sound in English is the schwa (IPA symbol: /ə/). IPA is the phonetic alphabet often used in phonetic transcriptions in dictionaries.
So, for example, BEAT is written with two vowel letters, but it's pronounced with one vowel sound (IPA symbol: /i/). And SO is written with one vowel letter, but it's pronounced with a diphthong, which is a vowel that sounds like two different sounds joined together (IPA for "so": /soʊ/).

But remember that not everyone speaks the same way, so there are people who use different sets of vowel sounds, diphthongs, etc.

Kooyeen

Joined on Thu, Dec 22 2005

Italy

Senior Member (3,838)

If you don't have a sense of humor already, it's about time you buy one.

Vowels, Consonants, Phonetics, Diphthongs

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