The English Diphthongs: an

introduction
IF1 Bis 2011
 General features
• «The sequences of vocalic elements included
under the term diphthong are those which
form a glide within one syllable»
• «They may be said to have a first element and
a second element»
• «Most of the length associated with the glide
is concentrated on the first element, the
second element being only lightly sounded;
diphthongs of this type are said to be falling»
• «They are equivalent in length to the long
(pure) vowels and are subject to the same
variations in quantity , e.g. plays [ple:iz], place
[pleis]. The reduced forms show a
considerable shortening of the first element»
(Pre-fortis clipping)

(Cruttenden 1997: 119)

 Further characteristics
• «For the purpose of practical language
teaching it is convenient to regard a diphthong
as a succession of two vowels , in spite of the
fact that, strictly speaking, it is a gliding
sound»
• «In some of the English diphthong-phonemes
we may distinguish more than one member;
for instance my eI in gate / geIt/ is not quite
the same as that in pay ipeI/»
• Diphthongs ending in /I/ and /U/: «The sound is
not heard to be essentially different if the
movement falls somewhat short of the limit, in
fact, in the pronunciation of most English speakers,
the limit is not nearly reached» (e.g boy, my)
• Dipthongs ending in /@/: «the limit is usually
reached when the sounds are final» (e.g near, fair,
tour)
(Jones 1978: 99)
Classification of the English diphthongs
1) According to the distance the tongue travels:

-wide (long glide) /aI/ /aU/ /OI/

-narrow (short glide) (all the others)

2) Depending on the direction of the movement of

the tongue :
-Closing (ending in close vowels /I/ or /U/)
-Centring (ending in central vowel shwa)
3) According to the prominence of the elements:

-Falling (first element more prominent than the

second one) most English diphthongs.

-Rising (second element more prominent than

the first one) only /I@/ and /U@/ in unstressed
position (e.g. serious, influence)
 Literature cited
• Cruttenden, A (1994) Gimson´s Pronunciation
of English: New York, Arnold.
• Finch, D & Ortiz Lira, H (1982) A course in
English phonetics for Spanish speakers:
Heinemann, London.
• Jones, D (1978) An Outline of English
Phonetics: CUP, Cambridge