6-Theme: Reading rules of Diphthongs. Plan What is diphthongs

6-Theme: Reading rules of Diphthongs.

Plan

1. What is diphthongs

2. What types have diphthongs

In English, there are two types of vowel sounds: monophthongs and diphthongs.
A monophthong is a vowel with a single sound, such as the long E sound in "meet" and the UH sound (short U) in "rust." Monophthongs make one single vowel sound in a syllable. You do not have to change the shape of your mouth while saying the vowel sound.
A diphthong is a more complex vowel sound.
The word diphthong comes from the Latin word "diphthongus" and the Greek word "diphthongos," meaning "having two sounds."

Diphthongs begin with one vowel sound and change to another vowel sound in the same syllable. Your mouth position changes slightly through the vowel sound.
Diphthongs are often (but not always) made when two vowels are next to each other in the same syllable. Try saying these words: (the diphthongs are in red)

• 
  brown
  
• 
  fair
  
• 
  share
  
• 
  slow
  
• 
  guy
  
• 
  boy
  
• 
  ouch
  
• 
  away
  
• 
  eye
  

It is hard to make a complete list diphthongs because the sounds can vary greatly by accent and dialect. A dialect is a form of a language that is spoken in a certain area. In addition to the basic sounds of the American English alphabet, pronunciation of words can vary from dialect to dialect.
There are eight major identified dialects in North America and Canada. That's a lot of different ways of pronouncing words!
Pronunciations of certain vowel sounds are also different among various forms of English (British, American, Australian). Pronunciations in American English will not always be the same as pronunciations in other forms of English.
If you are unsure how to pronounce a specific word, use an online dictionary that has pronunciations in audio form. This will give you the most common pronunciation of a word.
In this article, we will cover some of the most common diphthongs found in American English.
This diphthong is similar to the long A sound. It is pronounced as a long A sound sliding into a long E sound.

Some dialects pronounce the long A sound as one single sound (like in bake and late). Others pronounce it as two vowel sounds. It really depends on where you live. People with southern accents (from the south part of the United States) will stretch out the diphthong more.
This diphthong is pronounced as a long I sound sliding into a long E sound.
Again, this sound can vary from dialect to dialect. Some dialects pronounce the long I sound in the following words as one single sound. Some dialects pronounce the vowel sound more like the "AH" sound you would here in "ball". Others pronounce it as two vowel sounds.