Speech Work: Review of Diphthongs - JSS3 English language Lesson Note

Review of Diphthongs

What are Diphthongs?

Diphthongs are complex vowel sounds that begin with one vowel sound and glide into another within the same syllable. Unlike monophthongs, which have a single, unchanging sound, diphthongs have a dynamic quality that combines two distinct vowel sounds.

Types of Diphthongs

In English, there are eight primary diphthongs, each with a distinct sound and pronunciation. They can be categorised based on their starting and ending sounds:

1. /eɪ/

   - As in "face," "day," "say"

   - Example: "make" /meɪk/, "rain" /reɪn/

2. /aɪ/

   - As in "price," "my," "light"

   - Example: "time" /taɪm/, "like" /laɪk/

3. /ɔɪ/

   - As in "choice," "boy," "coin"

   - Example: "toy" /tɔɪ/, "join" /dʒɔɪn/

4. /aʊ/

   - As in "mouth," "now," "loud"

   - Example: "house" /haʊs/, "down" /daʊn/

5. /əʊ/

   - As in "goat," "show," "no"

   - Example: "go" /ɡəʊ/, "so" /səʊ/

6. /ɪə/

   - As in "near," "here," "beer"

   - Example: "ear" /ɪə/, "clear" /klɪə/

7. /eə/

   - As in "square," "air," "hair"

   - Example: "care" /keə/, "bear" /beə/

8. /ʊə/

   - As in "cure," "pure," "tour"

   - Example: "sure" /ʃʊə/, "poor" /pʊə/

Pronunciation of Diphthongs

1. /eɪ/ - Starts with /e/ and glides to /ɪ/.

   - Example: "late" /leɪt/

  - Pronounce: Begin with the short "e" sound in "bet" and glide to the "i" sound in "bit."

2. /aɪ/ - Starts with /a/ and glides to /ɪ/.

   - Example: "kite" /kaɪt/

  - Pronounce: Begin with the "a" sound in "car" and glide to the "i" sound in "bit."

3. /ɔɪ/ - Starts with /ɔ/ and glides to /ɪ/.

   - Example: "coin" /kɔɪn/

  - Pronounce: Begin with the "aw" sound in "law" and glide to the "i" sound in "bit."

4. /aʊ/ - Starts with /a/ and glides to /ʊ/.

   - Example: "mouth" /maʊθ/

  - Pronounce: Begin with the "a" sound in "car" and glide to the "u" sound in "put."

5. /əʊ/ - Starts with /ə/ and glides to /ʊ/.

   - Example: "no" /nəʊ/

  - Pronounce: Begin with the schwa sound and glide to the "u" sound in "put."

6. /ɪə/ - Starts with /ɪ/ and glides to /ə/.

   - Example: "beer" /bɪə/

   - Pronounce: Begin with the "i" sound in "bit" and glide to the schwa sound.

7. /eə/ - Starts with /e/ and glides to /ə/.

   - Example: "bear" /beə/

  - Pronounce: Begin with the "e" sound in "bet" and glide to the schwa sound.

8. /ʊə/ - Starts with /ʊ/ and glides to /ə/.

   - Example: "sure" /ʃʊə/

   - Pronounce: Begin with the "u" sound in "put" and glide to the schwa sound.

Exercise 1: Pronunciation Practice

Practice saying the following pairs of words, focusing on the diphthong sounds:

1. Main / Mine

2. Boy / Bow

3. Loud / Load

4. Near / Nair

5. Bear / Beer