z

Diphthongs and
Triphthongs
by Lic. Cecilia Mocnik
 z
Diphthongs are glides or movements from one vowel sound to another. They are
represented by only one phoneme, which cannot be separated. The first element is
stronger than the second. They are classified into two groups:

 Closing diphthongs: The second element is a close vowel.

/eɪ/ take, make, eight

/ɔɪ/ boy, enjoy, noise

/aɪ/ time, like, nine

/aʊ/ house, mouse, mouth

/əʊ/ low, grow, go

z

 Centring Diphthongs: their second element is the schwa.

/ɪə/ here, near, career

/ɛə/ there, where, chair

/ʊə/ sure, pure, ensurance

Triphthongs are glides from one vowel sound to another and then, to a third
one. This group is formed by adding the shwa to the closing dihthongs:

/eɪə/ player
/ɔɪə/ lawyer
/aɪə/ fire
/aʊə/ flower
/əʊə/ lower

Three of these triphthongs can be pronounced in a reduced way. This process

is called SMOOTHING:

Instead of /pleɪə/ (player), /faɪə/ (fire) or /flaʊə/ (flower), some speakers

pronounce /pleə/, /faə/ or /flaə/.
References
Cruttenden, Alan. Gimson’s Pronunciation of English. Sixth Edition. 2001. OUP