RP CLOSING DIPHTHONGS

IF1
 Further general features
• «Length variations in diphthongs are
governed by the same rules as length
variations affecting the relatively long pure
vowels»

• «The quantity variations of the English falling

diphthongs mainly affect their first element
(such is not the case when /I@, U@/ are
labelled ´rising´, as in brilliant or casual)»
• «As to lip posture, the elements in the
diphthongs tend to retain the positions they
present as pure vowels, unless otherwise
indicated»

(Finch and Ortiz Lira 1982: 37)

 Labels, allophones and spelling-to-sound
rules
• 13 /eI/ Narrow, front-closing.
• Glide starting at RP /e/, moving in the direction
of RP /I/.
• Fully long [e:I] as in pay, age; reduced [e·I] as
in paint, activate
• Spelling-to-sound rules: a (ape), ai (rain), ay
(day), ei (eight), ey (they), ea (great)
(Note: gauge /geIdZ/ and gaol /dZeIl/)
• 14 /@U/ Narrow, back-closing.
• Gliding starting at RP /@/, moving in the
direction of RP / U/
• Fully long [@:U] as in low, reduced [@·U] as
in envelope
• Spelling-to-sound rules: o (old), oe (toe), ow
(know), oa (road), ou (soul)
(Note: beau /b@U/, sew /s@U/, won´t
/w@Unt/)
• 15 /aI/ Wide, front-closing
• Glide starting from open retracted position,
moving in the direction of RP /I/.
• Fully long [a:I] eye, reduced [a·I] as in advice,
tight.
• Spelling-to-sound rules: i (time), ie (die), y
(cry), ye (dye), igh (sigh)
(Note: eye, buy)
• 16 /aU/ Wide, back-closing.
• Glide starting app. at RP /A:/, moving in the
direction of RP /U/
• Fully long [a:U] as in vow, town; reduced
[a·U] as in count, outhouse.
• Spelling-to-sound rules: ou (house), ow (allow)
(Note Macleod /m@klAUd/)
• 17 /OI/ Wide, front-closing
• Glide starting between half-open and open,
moving in the direction of RP /I/
• First element slightly rounded
• Fully long [O:I] toy, toil; reduced [O·I] as in
voice, loiter
• Spelling-to-sound rules: oi (boil), oy (oyster)
(Note buoy /bOI/)
 English diphthongs plus /@/
• «A third vocalic element /@/ can be added to
all diphthongs except the centring ones»
e.g. payer /peI@/
lower /l@U@/,
sour /saU@/
employer /ImplOI@/
• «The resulting sequence, however, is
pronounced fully only occasionally, as when
using either a slow, formal style of
pronunciation, or when the word containing
the vocalic sequence is given special
emphasis. Speakers of general RP, though,
tend to weaken and/or omit the second [I] or
[U] element in ordinary conversational style»
• «This vowel reduction, a form of compression
technically known as levelling, has given rise
to two new diphthongs:
a) One coming from /aI/ plus /@/, and another
from /aU/ plus /@/, but which have not as
yet been given phonemic status, and have to
be considered (and transcribed) as allophonic
realizations (i.e. [a@]); and
b) new sets of homophones; for instance the
quality difference between the above reduction
is so subtle, that pairs such as tyre, tower are
often pronounced the same [ta@]; another
example is diphthong No 19 /e@/ and the
levelling resulting from /ei/ plus /@/, as in there,
they´re»

(Finch and Ortiz Lira 1982: 38)

The Quadrilateral
 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.
• Fru Fru´s Phono Web
https://sites.google.com/site/frufru
sphonoweb/eng---chapters/english-
vowel-system