Pr.

Louriz

Spoken English (File 6)

Sounds of English (4): Diphthongs
[1] At this stage, you should be familiar with short and long vowels. English also has
diphthongs. These are vowels that combine two short vowels. The latter are those we studied
in file 4. So, in this file I will not explain how vowels that make diphthongs are produced.

[2] When you say the letters of the alphabet, ‘A’ has the diphthong /eɪ /. This is one vowel
which combines two short vowels: /e/ and /ɪ/. You hear this sound in the words ‘plane’ and
‘plain’. The following video demonstrates how this diphthong is produced:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/pronunciation/diphthongs8

Listen to the target vowel in the following words and repeat them as pronounced in
Cambridge Dictionary: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/ . The pronunciation you hear is what
you read in IPA symbols.

Orthography IPA Orthography IPA Orthography IPA

mate meɪt play pleɪ grey greɪ
came keɪm plate pleɪt grade greɪd
wait weɪt eight eɪt aim eɪm
bay beɪ age eɪʤ ate eɪt

As demonstrated in the previous files, the letters (in bold) and the sounds (in red) do not
match. This is why when you study a new word, you should check its pronunciation in a
dictionary. Dictionaries generally show the correct pronunciation using IPA symbols for each
word.

[4] The diphthong /ɑɪ/ is the sound you produce when saying the letters of the alphabet ‘I’.
You hear this sound in the word ‘hide’.

Like the diphthong /eɪ/, /ɑɪ/ is one vowel which combines two vowels in one.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/pronunciation/diphthongs3

Listen to the target vowel in the following words and repeat them as pronounced in
Cambridge Dictionary: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/ . The pronunciation you hear is what
you read in IPA symbols.

Orthography IPA Orthography IPA Orthography IPA

1
Pr. Louriz

might mɑɪt wide wɑɪd flies flɑɪz

buy bɑɪ why wɑɪ mice mɑɪs
type tɑɪp buy bɑɪ side sɑɪd
quite kwɑɪt fight fɑɪt wife wɑɪf

Here too, the diphthong sound (in red) is spelt using different letters (in bold). This is further
proof that you should not overgeneralize a pronunciation of a given letter. Rather, you should
refer to dictionaries when you encounter a new word.

[5] After other vowels, the letter ‘R’ is pronounced schwa /ə/. For instance, after the sound /e/,
the letter ‘R’ is pronounced schwa resulting in the diphthong /eə/. This is another diphthong
which combines the two vowels /e/ and /ə/:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/pronunciation/diphthongs6

Listen to the target vowel in the following words and repeat them as pronounced in
Cambridge Dictionary: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/ . The pronunciation you hear is what
you read in IPA symbols.

Orthography IPA Orthography IPA Orthography IPA

bear beə hair heə pair peə
share ʃeə square skweə chair ʧeə
dare deə where weə there ðeə
stair steə fair feə stare steə

Notice, here too, the lack of one-to-one mapping between letters and sounds. In some accents
of English (mainly in North America) the sound /r/ can be pronounced together with the
diphthong. Listen to these words again as pronounced in rhotic or non-rhotic varieties of
English.

[6] The diphthong /əʊ/ is produced as two vowels in one; it is the sound you hear in the word
‘no’. The following video demonstrates how it is produced:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/pronunciation/diphthongs5

Listen to the target vowel in the following words and repeat them as pronounced in
Cambridge Dictionary: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/ . The pronunciation you hear is what
you read in IPA symbols.

Orthography IPA Orthography IPA Orthography IPA

boat bəʊt blows bləʊz toast təʊst
bowl bəʊl coast kəʊst comb kəʊm
toe təʊ hole həʊl roll rəʊl
code kəʊd know nəʊ coach kəʊʧ

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Pr. Louriz

Here, too, letters are not reliable indicators for pronunciation. These words further show the
importance of looking the pronunciation of new words up in the dictionary.

[7] The diphthong /ɑʊ/ is produced as one which combines two short vowels; it is the sound
you hear in the word ‘now’. The following video demonstrates how it is produced:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/pronunciation/diphthongs7

Listen to the target vowel in the following words and repeat them as pronounced in
Cambridge Dictionary: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/ . The pronunciation you hear is what
you read in IPA symbols.

Orthography IPA Orthography IPA Orthography IPA

found fɑʊnd cow kɑʊ sound sɑʊnd
now nɑʊ house hɑʊs how hɑʊ
count kɑʊnt south sɑʊθ town tɑʊn
brown brɑʊn down dɑʊn couch kɑʊʧ

[8] The diphthong /ɔɪ/ is combines two short vowels and is considered one vowel; it is the
sound you hear in the word ‘boy’. The following video demonstrates how it is produced:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/pronunciation/diphthongs4

Listen to the target vowel in the following words and repeat them as pronounced in
Cambridge Dictionary: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/ . The pronunciation you hear is what
you read in IPA symbols.

Orthography IPA Orthography IPA Orthography IPA

boy bɔɪ oil ɔɪl soil sɔɪl
point pɔɪnt boil bɔɪl toy tɔɪ
voice vɔɪs noise nɔɪz coin kɔɪn
Roy (name) rɔɪ foil fɔɪl choice ʧɔɪs

[9] The diphthong /ʊə/ is produced as two vowels in one; it is the sound you hear in the word
‘poor’. The following video demonstrates how it is produced:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/pronunciation/diphthongs2

Listen to the target vowel in the following words and repeat them as pronounced in
Cambridge Dictionary: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/ . The pronunciation you hear is what
you read in IPA symbols.

Orthography IPA Orthography IPA Orthography IPA

3
Pr. Louriz

poor pʊə tour tʊə endure ɪndʊə

pure pjʊə cure kjʊə mature mətʊə
sure ʃʊə secure sɪkjʊə inure ɪnjʊə

In some accents of English (e.g. in North America) the sound /r/ can be pronounced. Listen to
these words again as pronounced in rhotic or non-rhotic varieties of English.

[10] The diphthong /ɪə/ is produced as two vowels in one; it is the sound you hear in the word
‘here’. The following video demonstrates how it is produced:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/features/pronunciation/diphthongs2

Listen to the target vowel in the following words and repeat them as pronounced in
Cambridge Dictionary: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/ . The pronunciation you hear is what
you read in IPA symbols.

Orthography IPA Orthography IPA Orthography IPA

here hɪə clear klɪə weary wɪərɪ
near nɪə hear hɪə fierce fɪəs
gear gɪə ear ɪə pierce pɪəs

In some accents of English (e.g. North America) the sound /r/ is pronounced. Listen to these
words again as pronounced in rhotic or non-rhotic varieties of English.

[11] Mispronouncing diphthongs can also result in a change of meaning –and, hence,
misunderstanding that can affect the conversation. For example, producing /ɪ/ instead of /ɑɪ/ -
or vice versa- results in a change of meaning. This is because they constitute a minimal pair,
which is a pair of words that vary only by a single sound and have distinct meaning. Consider
the minimal pairs below and use the online Cambridge Dictionary to listen to their
pronunciation. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/

Minimal pair /ɪ/ and /ɑɪ/

sit sɪt site sɑɪt
fit fɪt fight fɑɪt
tip tɪp type tɑɪp
lit lɪt light lɑɪt
Almost all diphthongs constitute minimal pairs. Consider the following examples and check
their pronunciation in the Cambridge Dictionary link: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/

Minimal pair /æ/ and /eɪ/

mat mæt mate meɪt
rap ræp rape reɪp
fat fæt fate feɪt
rat ræt fate reɪt

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Pr. Louriz

cat kæt kate (name) keɪt

Minimal pair /eɪ/ and /ɑɪ/

hate heɪt hight hɑɪt
mate meɪt might mɑɪt
fate feɪt fight fɑɪt
lay leɪ lie lɑɪ

Minimal pair /əʊ/ and /ɔ:/

know nəʊ nor nɔ:
mow məʊ more mɔ:
so səʊ saw sɔ:
poke pəʊk pork pɔ:k

Minimal pair /əʊ/ and /ɑʊ/

blows bəʊz blouse blɑʊz
coach kəʊʧ couch kɑʊʧ
sew səʊ sow sɑʊ
clone kləʊn clown klɑʊn

For more minimal pairs, visit the following link:

https://www.englishclub.com/pronunciation/minimal-pairs.htm