Speech Work - Triphthongs - JSS2 English language Lesson Note

A diphthong is a glide from one pure vowel (monophthong) to another pure vowel. There are eight diphthongs in English, with the first five traditionally called the closing diphthongs. Additionally, there are centering diphthongs.

A triphthong, on the other hand, involves a glide from one vowel to another and then to a third, all produced rapidly and without interruption.

Diphthong Characteristics:
Diphthongs have the same length as long vowels.
The first part of a diphthong (the initial sound) is much longer and stronger than the second part.
Example: The diphthong /aɪ/ in words like “eye” consists of the ‘a’ vowel, and only in about the last quarter of the diphthong does the glide to ‘ɪ’ become noticeable.
English Diphthongs:
Closing diphthongs (ending in ‘ə’):
/ɪə/: beard, weird, fierce, ear, beer, tear
/eə/: aired, cairn, scarce, bear, hair
/ʊə/: moored, tour, lure, sure, pure
Closing diphthongs (ending in ‘ɪ’):
/eɪ/: paid, pain, face, shade, age, wait, taste, paper
/aɪ/: tide, time, nice, buy, bike, pie, eye, kite, fine
/ɔɪ/: void, loin, voice, oil, boil, coin, toy, Roy
Closing diphthongs (ending in ‘ʊ’):
/əʊ/: load, home, most, bone, phone, boat, bowl
/aʊ/: loud, gown, house, cow, bow, brow, grouse
Triphthongs:
Triphthongs involve three successive vowel qualities. For example, the word “hour” begins with a vowel quality similar to ‘ɑ:’, transitions to ‘ʊ’, and ends in ‘ə’.
Triphthongs are formed by adding ‘ə’ to closing diphthongs:
/eɪ/ + ‘ə’ = /eɪə/ (e.g., layer, player)
/aɪ/ + ‘ə’ = /aɪə/ (e.g., lire, fire)
/ɔɪ/ + ‘ə’ = /ɔɪə/ (e.g., loyal, royal)
/əʊ/ + ‘ə’ = /əuə/ (e.g., lower, mower)
/aʊ/ + ‘ə’ = /auə/ (e.g., power, hour)