pronounced as /notice/
A diphthong (;[1],), also known as a gliding vowel or a vowel glide, is a combination of two adjacent vowel sounds within the same syllable. Technically, a diphthong is a vowel with two different targets: that is, the tongue (and/or other parts of the speech apparatus) moves during the pronunciation of the vowel. In most varieties of English, the phrase "no highway cowboy" has five distinct diphthongs, one in every syllable.
Diphthongs contrast with monophthongs, where the tongue or other speech organs do not move and the syllable contains only a single vowel sound. For instance, in English, the word ah is spoken as a monophthong, while the word ow is spoken as a diphthong in most varieties . Where two adjacent vowel sounds occur in different syllables (e.g. in the English word re-elect) the result is described as hiatus, not as a diphthong.
Diphthongs often form when separate vowels are run together in rapid speech during a conversation. However, there are also unitary diphthongs, as in the English examples above, which are heard by listeners as single-vowel sounds (phonemes).[2]
In the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), monophthongs are transcribed with one symbol, as in English sun pronounced as /[sʌn]/, in which (IPA|ʌ) represents a monophthong. Diphthongs are transcribed with two symbols, as in English high pronounced as //haɪ// or cow pronounced as //kaʊ//, in which (IPA|aɪ) and (IPA|aʊ) represent diphthongs.
Diphthongs may be transcribed with two vowel symbols or with a vowel symbol and a semivowel symbol. In the words above, the less prominent member of the diphthong can be represented with the symbols for the palatal approximant pronounced as /link/ and the labiovelar approximant pronounced as /link/, with the symbols for the close vowels pronounced as /link/ and pronounced as /link/, or the symbols for the near-close vowels pronounced as /link/ and pronounced as /link/:
| vowel and semivowel | (IPA|haj kaw) | broad transcription |
|---|---|---|
| two vowel symbols | (IPA|hai̯ kau̯) | |
| (IPA|haɪ̯ kaʊ̯) | narrow transcription |
Some transcriptions are broader or narrower (less precise or more precise phonetically) than others. Transcribing the English diphthongs in high and cow as (IPA|aj aw) or (IPA|ai̯ au̯) is a less precise or broader transcription, since these diphthongs usually end in a vowel sound that is more open than the semivowels pronounced as /[j w]/ or the close vowels pronounced as /[i u]/. Transcribing the diphthongs as (IPA|aɪ̯ aʊ̯) is a more precise or narrower transcription, since the English diphthongs usually end in the near-close vowels pronounced as /[ɪ ʊ]/.
The non-syllabic diacritic, the inverted breve below (◌̯),[3] is placed under the less prominent part of a diphthong to show that it is part of a diphthong rather than a vowel in a separate syllable: pronounced as /[aɪ̯ aʊ̯]/. When there is no contrastive vowel sequence in the language, the diacritic may be omitted. Other common indications that the two sounds are not separate vowels are a superscript, (IPA|aᶦ aᶷ),[4] or a tie bar, (IPA|a͡ɪ a͡ʊ) or (IPA|a͜ɪ a͜ʊ).[5] The tie bar can be useful when it is not clear which symbol represents the syllable nucleus, or when they have equal weight.[6] Superscripts are especially used when an on- or off-glide is particularly fleeting.[7]
The period (IPA|.) is the opposite of the non-syllabic diacritic: it represents a syllable break. If two vowels next to each other belong to two different syllables (hiatus), meaning that they do not form a diphthong, they can be transcribed with two vowel symbols with a period in between. Thus, lower can be transcribed (IPA|ˈloʊ.ɚ), with a period separating the first syllable,, from the second syllable, (IPA|ɚ).
The non-syllabic diacritic is used only when necessary. It is typically omitted when there is no ambiguity, as in (IPA|haɪ kaʊ). No words in English have the vowel sequences pronounced as /
Falling (or descending) diphthongs start with a vowel quality of higher prominence (higher pitch or volume) and end in a semivowel with less prominence, like pronounced as /[aɪ̯]/ in eye, while rising (or ascending) diphthongs begin with a less prominent semivowel and end with a more prominent full vowel, similar to the pronounced as /[ja]/ in yard. (Sometimes, however, the terms "falling" and "rising" are used, instead, to refer to vowel height, i.e. as synonyms of the terms "closing" and "opening".[8] See below.) The less prominent component in the diphthong may also be transcribed as an approximant, thus pronounced as /[aj]/ in eye and pronounced as /[ja]/ in yard. However, when the diphthong is analysed as a single phoneme, both elements are often transcribed with vowel symbols (pronounced as //aɪ̯//, pronounced as //ɪ̯a//). Semivowels and approximants are not equivalent in all treatments, and in the English and Italian languages, among others, many phoneticians do not consider rising combinations to be diphthongs, but rather sequences of approximant and vowel. There are many languages (such as Romanian) that contrast one or more rising diphthongs with similar sequences of a glide and a vowel in their phonetic inventory (see semivowel for examples).
In closing diphthongs, the second element is more close than the first (e.g. pronounced as /[ai]/); in opening diphthongs, the second element is more open (e.g. pronounced as /[ia]/). Closing diphthongs tend to be falling (pronounced as /[ai̯]/), and opening diphthongs are generally rising (pronounced as /[i̯a]/),[9] as open vowels are more sonorous and therefore tend to be more prominent. However, exceptions to this rule are not rare in the world's languages. In Finnish, for instance, the opening diphthongs pronounced as //ie̯// and pronounced as //uo̯// are true falling diphthongs, since they begin louder and with higher pitch and fall in prominence during the diphthong.
A third, rare type of diphthong that is neither opening nor closing is height-harmonic diphthongs, with both elements at the same vowel height.[10] These may have occurred in Old English:
A centering diphthong is one that begins with a more peripheral vowel and ends with a more central one, such as pronounced as /[ɪə̯]/, pronounced as /[ɛə̯]/, and pronounced as /[ʊə̯]/ in Received Pronunciation or pronounced as /[iə̯]/ and pronounced as /[uə̯]/ in Irish. Many centering diphthongs are also opening diphthongs (pronounced as /[iə̯]/, pronounced as /[uə̯]/).
Diphthongs may contrast in how far they open or close. For example, Samoan contrasts low-to-mid with low-to-high diphthongs:
Narrow diphthongs are the ones that end with a vowel which on a vowel chart is quite close to the one that begins the diphthong, for example Northern Dutch pronounced as /[eɪ]/, pronounced as /[øʏ]/ and pronounced as /[oʊ]/. Wide diphthongs are the opposite – they require a greater tongue movement, and their offsets are farther away from their starting points on the vowel chart. Examples of wide diphthongs are RP/GA English pronounced as /[aɪ]/ and pronounced as /[aʊ]/.
Languages differ in the length of diphthongs, measured in terms of morae. In languages with phonemically short and long vowels, diphthongs typically behave like long vowels, and are pronounced with a similar length.[11] In languages with only one phonemic length for pure vowels, however, diphthongs may behave like pure vowels.[12] For example, in Icelandic, both monophthongs and diphthongs are pronounced long before single consonants and short before most consonant clusters.
Some languages contrast short and long diphthongs. In some languages, such as Old English, these behave like short and long vowels, occupying one and two morae, respectively. Languages that contrast three quantities in diphthongs are extremely rare, but not unheard of; Northern Sami is known to contrast long, short and "finally stressed" diphthongs, the last of which are distinguished by a longer second element.[13]
In some languages, diphthongs are single phonemes, while in others they are analyzed as sequences of two vowels, or of a vowel and a semivowel.
Certain sound changes relate to diphthongs and monophthongs. Vowel breaking or diphthongization is a vowel shift in which a monophthong becomes a diphthong. Monophthongization or smoothing is a vowel shift in which a diphthong becomes a monophthong.
While there are a number of similarities, diphthongs are not the same phonologically as a combination of a vowel and an approximant or glide. Most importantly, diphthongs are fully contained in the syllable nucleus while a semivowel or glide is restricted to the syllable boundaries (either the onset or the coda). This often manifests itself phonetically by a greater degree of constriction, but the phonetic distinction is not always clear. The English word yes, for example, consists of a palatal glide followed by a monophthong rather than a rising diphthong. In addition, the segmental elements must be different in diphthongs pronounced as /[ii̯]/ and so when it occurs in a language, it does not contrast with pronounced as /[iː]/. However, it is possible for languages to contrast pronounced as /[ij]/ and pronounced as /[iː]/.
Diphthongs are also distinct from sequences of simple vowels. The Bunaq language of Timor, for example, distinguishes pronounced as //sa͡i/ [saj]/ 'exit' from pronounced as //sai/ [saʲi]/ 'be amused', pronounced as //te͡i/ [tej]/ 'dance' from pronounced as //tei/ [teʲi]/ 'stare at', and pronounced as //po͡i/ [poj]/ 'choice' from pronounced as //loi/ [loʷi]/ 'good'.[14]
See also: International Phonetic Alphabet chart for English dialects.
In words coming from Middle English, most cases of the Modern English diphthongs pronounced as /[aɪ̯, oʊ̯, eɪ̯, aʊ̯]/ originate from the Middle English long monophthongs pronounced as /[iː, ɔː, aː, uː]/ through the Great Vowel Shift, although some cases of pronounced as /[oʊ̯, eɪ̯]/ originate from the Middle English diphthongs pronounced as /[ɔu̯, aɪ̯]/.
| +Standard English diphthongs | English diaphoneme | RP (British) | Australian | S.W. Irish | North American | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GenAm | Canadian | ||||||
| low | pronounced as ///oʊ/// | pronounced as /[əʉ̯]/ | pronounced as /[ɜʉ̯~ɐʉ̯]/ | pronounced as /[oː]/ | pronounced as /[o̞ʊ̯~ʌʊ̯~ɔʊ̯~o̞]/ | ||
| loud | pronounced as ///aʊ/// | pronounced as /[aʊ̯]/ | pronounced as /[æɔ̯]/ | pronounced as /[ɐʊ̯~ʌʊ̯]/ | pronounced as /[aʊ̯~æʊ̯]/[15] | pronounced as /[aʊ̯~æʊ̯]/ | |
| lout | pronounced as /[ʌʊ̯]/[16] | ||||||
| lied | pronounced as ///aɪ/// | pronounced as /[ɑ̈ɪ̯~ʌ̞ɪ̯]/ | pronounced as /[ɑ̟e̯~ɑe̯]/ | pronounced as /[æɪ̯~ɐɪ̯]/ | pronounced as /[äɪ̯~ɑɪ̯]/[17] | ||
| light | pronounced as /[ʌɪ̯~ɜɪ̯~ɐɪ̯]/ | ||||||
| lay | pronounced as ///eɪ/// | pronounced as /[e̞ɪ̯~ɛɪ̯]/ | pronounced as /[æɪ̯~ɐɪ̯]/ | pronounced as /[eː]/ | pronounced as /[eɪ̯~e]/ | ||
| loin | pronounced as ///ɔɪ/// | pronounced as /[ɔɪ̯]/ | pronounced as /[oɪ̯]/ | pronounced as /[əɪ̯~ɑɪ̯]/ | pronounced as /[ɔɪ̯~oɪ̯]/ | ||
| loon | pronounced as //uː//[18] | pronounced as /[ʊ̈ʉ̯~ʉː~ɨ̞ɯ̯̈]/ | pronounced as /[ʊ̈ʉ̯]/ | pronounced as /[uː]/ | pronounced as /[u̟~ʊu̯~ʉu̯~ɵu̯]/ | pronounced as /[ʉu̯]/ | |
| lean | pronounced as //iː// | pronounced as /[ɪi̯~iː]/ | pronounced as /[ɪi̯~əi̯]/ | pronounced as /[iː]/ | pronounced as /[ɪi̯~i]/ | ||
| leer | pronounced as ///ɪər/// | pronounced as /[ɪ̞ː~ëː~ɪə̯]/ | pronounced as /[ɪə̯~ɪː~iː~iə̯]/ | pronounced as /[iːɹ]/ | pronounced as /[ɪɹ~iɹ]/ | ||
| lair | pronounced as ///ɛər/// | pronounced as /[ɛː~ɛə̯]/ | pronounced as /[e̞ː~eː]/ | pronounced as /[eːɹ]/ | pronounced as /[ɛɹ]/ | ||
| lure | pronounced as ///ʊər/// | pronounced as /[ɵː~ɤ̈ː, o̞ː]/ | pronounced as /[ʊ̈ʉ̯ə, oː]/ | pronounced as /[uːɹ]/ | pronounced as /[ʊɹ~ɔɹ~oɹ]/ | ||
| + Diphthongs of Dutch | Netherlandic | Belgian | |
|---|---|---|---|
| zeis, ijs | pronounced as /[ɛi̯]/ | ||
| ui | pronounced as /[œʏ̯]/ | ||
| zout, louw | pronounced as /[aʊ̯]/ | pronounced as /[ɔʊ̯]/ | |
| leeuw | pronounced as /[e:ʊ̯]/ | ||
| nieuw | pronounced as /[iʊ̯]/ | ||
| duw | pronounced as /[yʊ̯]/ | ||
| dooi | pronounced as /[o:ɪ̯]/ | ||
| saai | pronounced as /[a:ɪ̯]/ | ||
| loei | pronounced as /[uɪ̯]/ | ||
| beet[19] | pronounced as /[eɪ̯]/ | pronounced as /[eː]/ | |
| neus | pronounced as /[øʏ̯]/ | pronounced as /[øː]/ | |
| boot | pronounced as /[oʊ̯]/ | pronounced as /[oː]/ | |
The dialect of Hamont (in Limburg) has five centring diphthongs and contrasts long and short forms of pronounced as /[ɛɪ̯]/, pronounced as /[œʏ̯]/, pronounced as /[ɔʊ̯]/, and pronounced as /[ɑʊ̯]/.
The Afrikaans language has its origin in Dutch but differs in many significant ways, including the use of diphthongs in the place of several non-diphthong Dutch double vowels, or double-vowels being pronounced differently.Examples include:
| Ending point | |||||
| Front | Central | Back | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Closed | pronounced as /iʊ̯/ | ||||
| pronounced as /uɪ̯/ | |||||
| Mid | pronounced as /əɪ̯/ | pronounced as /ɪə/ | |||
| pronounced as /œɪ̯, ɔɪ̯, oːɪ̯/ | pronounced as /ʏə, ʊə/ | pronounced as /œʊ̯/ | |||
| Open | pronounced as /aɪ̯, ɑːɪ̯/ |
| pronounced as //ɪø// | pronounced as //sɪøn// | Afrikaans: seun | 'son' | |
| pronounced as //əɪ̯// | pronounced as //ɦəɪ̯// | Afrikaans: hy | 'he' | |
| pronounced as //ɪə// | pronounced as //vɪət// | Afrikaans: weet | 'to know' | |
| pronounced as //œɪ̯// | pronounced as //ɦœɪ̯s// | Afrikaans: huis | 'house' | |
| pronounced as //ɔɪ̯// | pronounced as //ˈχɔɪ̯əŋ// | Afrikaans: {{Not a typo|goiing | 'burlap' | |
| pronounced as //ʊə// | pronounced as //brʊət// | Afrikaans: brood | 'bread' | |
| pronounced as //œʊ̯// | pronounced as //kœʊ̯t// | Afrikaans: koud | 'cold' | |
| pronounced as //aɪ̯// | pronounced as //ˈbaɪ̯ə// | Afrikaans: baie | 'many' |
The long diphthongs (or 'double vowels') are phonemically sequences of a free vowel and a non-syllabic equivalent of pronounced as //i// or pronounced as //u//: pronounced as /[iu, ui, oːi, eu, ɑːi]/. Both pronounced as /[iu]/ and pronounced as /[eu]/ tend to be pronounced as pronounced as /[iu]/, but they are spelled differently: the former as (ieu), the latter as (eeu).
In diminutives ending in pronounced as //ki// formed to monosyllabic nouns, the vowels pronounced as //u, ɪə, ʊə, ɛ, ə, œ, ɔ, a, ɑː// are realised as closing diphthongs pronounced as /[ui, ei, oi, ɛi, əi, œi, ɔi, ai, ɑːi]/. In the same environment, the sequences pronounced as //ɛn, ən, œn, ɔn, an// are realized as pronounced as /[ɛiɲ, əiɲ, œiɲ, ɔiɲ, aiɲ]/, i.e. as closing diphthongs followed by palatal nasal.
Phonemic diphthongs in German:
In the varieties of German that vocalize the pronounced as //r// in the syllable coda, other diphthongal combinations may occur. These are only phonetic diphthongs, not phonemic diphthongs, since the vocalic pronunciation pronounced as /[ɐ̯]/ alternates with consonantal pronunciations of pronounced as //r// if a vowel follows, cf. German: du hörst pronounced as /[duː ˈhøːɐ̯st]/ 'you hear' – German: ich höre pronounced as /[ʔɪç ˈhøːʀə]/ 'I hear'. These phonetic diphthongs may be as follows:
| Diphthong | Example | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phonemically | Phonetically | IPA | Orthography | Translation | |
| pronounced as //iːr// | pronounced as /[iːɐ̯]/ | pronounced as /[viːɐ̯]/ | German: wir | we | |
| pronounced as //yːr// | pronounced as /[yːɐ̯]/ | pronounced as /[fyːɐ̯]/ | German: für | for | |
| pronounced as //uːr// | pronounced as /[uːɐ̯]/ | pronounced as /[ˈʔuːɐ̯laʊ̯pʰ]/ | German: <u>Ur</u>laub | holiday | |
| pronounced as //ɪr// | pronounced as /[ɪɐ̯]/ | pronounced as /[vɪɐ̯tʰ]/ | German: wird | he/she/it becomes | |
| pronounced as //ʏr// | pronounced as /[ʏɐ̯]/ | pronounced as /[ˈvʏɐ̯də]/ | German: W<u>ür</u>de | dignity | |
| pronounced as //ʊr// | pronounced as /[ʊɐ̯]/ | pronounced as /[ˈvʊɐ̯də]/ | German: w<u>ur</u>de | I/he/she/it became | |
| pronounced as //eːr// | pronounced as /[eːɐ̯]/ | pronounced as /[meːɐ̯]/ | German: mehr | more | |
| pronounced as //øːr// | pronounced as /[øːɐ̯]/ | pronounced as /[høːɐ̯]/ | German: hör! | (you) hear! | |
| pronounced as //oːr// | pronounced as /[oːɐ̯]/ | pronounced as /[tʰoːɐ̯]/ | German: Tor | gate/goal (in football) | |
| pronounced as //ɛːr// | pronounced as /[ɛːɐ̯]/ | pronounced as /[bɛːɐ̯]/ | German: Bär | bear | |
| pronounced as //ɛr// | pronounced as /[ɛɐ̯]/ | pronounced as /[ʔɛɐ̯ftʰ]/ | German: [[Erft]] | Erft | |
| pronounced as //œr// | pronounced as /[œɐ̯]/ | pronounced as /[dœɐ̯tʰ]/ | German: dörrt | he/she/it dries | |
| pronounced as //ɔr// | pronounced as /[ɔɐ̯]/ | pronounced as /[ˈnɔɐ̯dn̩]/ | German: N<u>or</u>den | north | |
| pronounced as //aːr// | pronounced as /[aːɐ̯]/ | pronounced as /[vaːɐ̯]/ | German: wahr | true | |
| pronounced as //ar// | pronounced as /[aɐ̯]/ | pronounced as /[haɐ̯tʰ]/ | German: hart | hard | |
notes that the length contrast is not very stable before non-prevocalic pronounced as //r// and that ", following the pronouncing dictionaries judge the vowel in German: Art, German: Schwert, German: Fahrt to be long, while the vowel in German: Ort, German: Furcht, German: hart is supposed to be short. The factual basis of this presumed distinction seems very questionable."[20] He goes on stating that in his own dialect, there is no length difference in these words, and that judgements on vowel length in front of non-prevocalic pronounced as //r// which is itself vocalized are problematic, in particular if pronounced as //a// precedes.
According to the 'lengthless' analysis, the aforementioned 'long' diphthongs are analyzed as pronounced as /[iɐ̯]/, pronounced as /[yɐ̯]/, pronounced as /[uɐ̯]/, pronounced as /[eɐ̯]/, pronounced as /[øɐ̯]/, pronounced as /[oɐ̯]/, pronounced as /[ɛɐ̯]/ and pronounced as /[aɐ̯]/. This makes non-prevocalic pronounced as //aːr// and pronounced as //ar// homophonous as pronounced as /[aɐ̯]/ or pronounced as /[aː]/. Non-prevocalic pronounced as //ɛːr// and pronounced as //ɛr// may also merge, but the vowel chart in shows that they have somewhat different starting points.
also states that "laxing of the vowel is predicted to take place in shortened vowels; it does indeed seem to go hand in hand with the vowel shortening in many cases."
The diphthongs of some German dialects differ from standard German diphthongs. The Bernese German diphthongs, for instance, correspond rather to the Middle High German diphthongs than to standard German diphthongs:
Apart from these phonemic diphthongs, Bernese German has numerous phonetic diphthongs due to L-vocalization in the syllable coda, for instance the following ones:
Yiddish has three diphthongs:
Diphthongs may reach a higher target position (towards pronounced as //i//) in situations of coarticulatory phenomena or when words with such vowels are being emphasized.
There are five diphthongs in the Oslo dialect of Norwegian, all of them falling:
An additional diphthong, pronounced as /[ʉ͍ɪ]/, occurs only in the word hui in the expression i hui og hast "in great haste". The number and form of diphthongs vary between dialects.
Diphthongs in Faroese are:
Diphthongs in Icelandic are the following:
Combinations of semivowel pronounced as //j// and a vowel are the following:
In French, pronounced as //wa//, pronounced as //wɛ̃//, pronounced as //ɥi// and pronounced as //ɥɛ̃// may be considered true diphthongs (that is, fully contained in the syllable nucleus: pronounced as /[u̯a], [u̯ɛ̃], [y̯i], [y̯ɛ̃]/). Other sequences are considered part of a glide formation process that turns a high vowel into a semivowel (and part of the syllable onset) when followed by another vowel.
Diphthongs
Semivowels
See main article: Quebec French phonology. In Quebec French, long vowels are generally diphthongized in informal speech when stressed.
Catalan possesses a number of phonetic diphthongs, all of which begin (rising diphthongs) or end (falling diphthongs) in pronounced as /[j]/ or pronounced as /[w]/.
| falling | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| pronounced as /[aj]/ | aigua | 'water' | pronounced as /[aw]/ | taula | 'table' | |
| pronounced as /[əj]/ | mainada | 'children' | pronounced as /[əw]/ | caurem | 'we will fall' | |
| pronounced as /[ɛj]/ | remei | 'remedy' | pronounced as /[ɛw]/ | peu | 'foot' | |
| pronounced as /[ej]/ | rei | 'king' | pronounced as /[ew]/ | seu | 'his/her' | |
| pronounced as /[iw]/ | niu | 'nest' | ||||
| pronounced as /[ɔj]/ | noi | 'boy' | pronounced as /[ɔw]/ | nou | 'new' | |
| pronounced as /[ow]/ | jou | 'yoke' | ||||
| pronounced as /[uj]/ | avui | 'today' | pronounced as /[uw]/ | duu | 'he/she is carrying' | |
| rising | ||||||
| pronounced as /[ja]/ | iaia | 'grandma' | pronounced as /[wa]/ | quatre | 'four' | |
| pronounced as /[jɛ]/ | veiem | 'we see' | pronounced as /[wɛ]/ | seqüència | 'sequence' | |
| pronounced as /[je]/ | seient | 'seat' | pronounced as /[we]/ | ungüent | 'ointment' | |
| pronounced as /[jə]/ | feia | 'he/she was doing' | pronounced as /[wə]/ | qüestió | 'question' | |
| pronounced as /[wi]/ | pingüí | 'penguin' | ||||
| pronounced as /[jɔ]/ | iode | 'iodine' | pronounced as /[wɔ]/ | quota | 'payment' | |
| pronounced as /[ju]/ | iogurt | 'yoghurt' | ||||
In standard Eastern Catalan, rising diphthongs (that is, those starting with pronounced as /[j]/ or pronounced as /[w]/) are possible only in the following contexts:[21]
There are also certain instances of compensatory diphthongization in the Majorcan dialect so that pronounced as //ˈtroncs// ('logs') (in addition to deleting the palatal plosive) develops a compensating palatal glide and surfaces as pronounced as /[ˈtrojns]/ (and contrasts with the unpluralized pronounced as /[ˈtronʲc]/). Diphthongization compensates for the loss of the palatal stop (part of Catalan's segment loss compensation). There are other cases where diphthongization compensates for the loss of point of articulation features (property loss compensation) as in pronounced as /[ˈaɲ]/ ('year') vs pronounced as /[ˈajns]/ ('years'). The dialectal distribution of this compensatory diphthongization is almost entirely dependent on the dorsal plosive (whether it is velar or palatal) and the extent of consonant assimilation (whether or not it is extended to palatals).
See main article: Portuguese phonology. The Portuguese diphthongs are formed by the labio-velar approximant pronounced as /[w]/ and palatal approximant pronounced as /[j]/ with a vowel, European Portuguese has 14 phonemic diphthongs (10 oral and 4 nasal), all of which are falling diphthongs formed by a vowel and a nonsyllabic high vowel. Brazilian Portuguese has roughly the same amount, although the European and non-European dialects have slightly different pronunciations (pronounced as /[ɐj]/ is a distinctive feature of some southern and central Portuguese dialects, especially that of Lisbon). A pronounced as /[w]/ onglide after pronounced as //k// or pronounced as //ɡ// and before all vowels as in quando pronounced as /[ˈkwɐ̃du]/ ('when') or guarda pronounced as /[ˈɡwaɾðɐ ~ ˈɡwaʁdɐ]/ ('guard') may also form rising diphthongs and triphthongs. Additionally, in casual speech, adjacent heterosyllabic vowels may combine into diphthongs and triphthongs or even sequences of them.
| EP | BP | EP | BP | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| sai | pronounced as /[aj]/ | mau | pronounced as /[aw]/ | |||
| sei | pronounced as /[ɐj]/[ej]/ | pronounced as /[ej]/ | meu | pronounced as /[ew]/ | ||
| anéis | pronounced as /[ɛj]/ | véu | pronounced as /[ɛw]/ | |||
| viu | pronounced as /[iw]/ | |||||
| mói | pronounced as /[ɔj]/ | |||||
| moita | pronounced as /[oj]/ | dou | pronounced as /[ow]/ | |||
| fui | pronounced as /[uj]/ | |||||
| nasal | ||||||
| mãe | pronounced as /[ɐ̃j]/ | pronounced as /[ɐ̃j]/ | mão | pronounced as /[ɐ̃w]/ | ||
| cem | pronounced as /[ẽj]/ | |||||
| anões | pronounced as /[õj]/ | |||||
| muita | pronounced as /[ũj]/ | |||||
In addition, phonetic diphthongs are formed in most Brazilian Portuguese dialects by the vocalization of pronounced as //l// in the syllable coda with words like sol pronounced as /[sɔw]/ ('sun') and sul pronounced as /[suw]/ ('south') as well as by yodization of vowels preceding pronounced as /link/ or its allophone at syllable coda pronounced as /[{{IPAplink|ʃ}} ~ {{IPAplink|ɕ}}]/ in terms like arroz pronounced as /[aˈʁojs ~ ɐˈʁo(j)ɕ]/ ('rice'), and pronounced as /link/ (or pronounced as /[{{IPAplink|ʒ}} ~ {{IPAplink|ʑ}}]/) in terms such as paz mundial pronounced as /[ˈpajz mũdʒiˈaw ~ ˈpa(j)ʑ mũdʑiˈaw]/ ('world peace') and dez anos pronounced as /[ˌdɛjˈz‿ɐ̃nu(j)s ~ ˌdɛjˈz‿ɐ̃nuɕ]/ ('ten years').
Phonetically, Spanish has seven falling diphthongs and eight rising diphthongs. In addition, during fast speech, sequences of vowels in hiatus become diphthongs wherein one becomes non-syllabic (unless they are the same vowel, in which case they fuse together) as in poeta pronounced as /[ˈpo̯eta]/ ('poet'), almohada pronounced as /[alˈmo̯aða]/ ('pillow'), maestro pronounced as /[ˈmae̯stɾo]/ ('teacher') and línea pronounced as /[ˈline̯a]/ ('line'). The Spanish diphthongs are:[23]
| pronounced as /[ai̯]/ | aire | 'air' | pronounced as /[au̯]/ | pausa | 'pause' | |
| pronounced as /[ei̯]/ | rey | 'king' | pronounced as /[eu̯]/ | neutro | 'neutral' | |
| pronounced as /[oi̯]/ | hoy | 'today' | pronounced as /[ou̯]/ | bou | 'seine fishing' | |
| pronounced as /[ui̯]/ | muy | 'very' | ||||
| rising | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| pronounced as /[ja]/ | hacia | 'towards' | pronounced as /[wa]/ | cuadro | 'picture' | |
| pronounced as /[je]/ | tierra | 'earth' | pronounced as /[we]/ | fuego | 'fire' | |
| pronounced as /[wi]/ | fuimos | 'we went' | ||||
| pronounced as /[jo]/ | radio | 'radio' | pronounced as /[wo]/ | cuota | 'quota' | |
| pronounced as /[ju]/ | viuda | 'widow' | ||||
The existence of true diphthongs in Italian is debated; however, a list is:
| pronounced as /[ai̯]/ | baita | 'mountain hut' | pronounced as /[au̯]/ | auto | 'car' | |
| pronounced as /[ei̯]/ | potei | 'I could' (past tense) | pronounced as /[eu̯]/ | pleurite | 'pleurisy' | |
| pronounced as /[ɛi̯]/ | sei | 'six' | pronounced as /[ɛu̯]/ | neutro | 'neuter' | |
| pronounced as /[ɔi̯]/ | poi | 'later' | ||||
| pronounced as /[oi̯]/ | voi | 'you' (pl.) | ||||
| pronounced as /[ui̯]/ | lui | 'he' | ||||
| rising | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| pronounced as /[ja]/ | chiave | 'key' | pronounced as /[wa]/ | guado | 'ford' | |
| pronounced as /[jɛ]/ | pieno | 'full' | pronounced as /[wɛ]/ | quercia | 'oak' | |
| pronounced as /[je]/ | soffietto | 'bellows' | pronounced as /[we]/ | quello | 'that' | |
| pronounced as /[wi]/ | guida | 'guide' | ||||
| pronounced as /[jɔ]/ | chiodo | 'nail' | pronounced as /[wɔ]/ | quota | 'quota' | |
| pronounced as /[jo]/ | fiore | 'flower' | pronounced as /[wo]/ | acquoso | 'watery' | |
| pronounced as /[ju]/ | piuma | 'feather' | ||||
The second table includes only 'false' diphthongs, composed of a semivowel + a vowel, not two vowels. The situation is more nuanced in the first table: a word such as 'baita' is actually pronounced ['baj.ta] and most speakers would syllabify it that way. A word such as 'voi' would instead be pronounced and syllabified as ['vo.i], yet again without a diphthong.
In general, unstressed pronounced as //i e o u// in hiatus can turn into glides in more rapid speech (e.g. biennale pronounced as /[bi̯enˈnaːle]/ 'biennial'; coalizione pronounced as /[ko̯alitˈtsi̯oːne]/ 'coalition') with the process occurring more readily in syllables further from stress.
See main article: Romanian phonology. Romanian has two true diphthongs: pronounced as //e̯a// and pronounced as //o̯a//. There are, however, a host of other vowel combinations (more than any other major Romance language) which are classified as vowel glides. As a result of their origin (diphthongization of mid vowels under stress), the two true diphthongs appear only in stressed syllables and make morphological alternations with the mid vowels pronounced as //e// and pronounced as //o//. To native speakers, they sound very similar to pronounced as //ja// and pronounced as //wa// respectively. There are no perfect minimal pairs to contrast pronounced as //o̯a// and pronounced as //wa//, and because pronounced as //o̯a// does not appear in the final syllable of a prosodic word, there are no monosyllabic words with pronounced as //o̯a//; exceptions might include voal ('veil') and trotuar ('sidewalk'), though Ioana Chițoran argues that these are best treated as containing glide-vowel sequences rather than diphthongs. In addition to these, the semivowels pronounced as //j// and pronounced as //w// can be combined (either before, after, or both) with most vowels, while this arguably[24] forms additional diphthongs and triphthongs, only pronounced as //e̯a// and pronounced as //o̯a// can follow an obstruent-liquid cluster such as in broască ('frog') and dreagă ('to mend'), implying that pronounced as //j// and pronounced as //w// are restricted to the syllable boundary and therefore, strictly speaking, do not form diphthongs.
All Irish diphthongs are falling.
There are 9 diphthongs in Scottish Gaelic. Group 1 occur anywhere (eu is usually pronounced as /[eː]/ before -m, e.g. Seumas). Group 2 are reflexes that occur before -ll, -m, -nn, -bh, -dh, -gh and -mh.
| Spellings | Examples | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | pronounced as /[iə]/ | ia | iarr "ask" |
| pronounced as /[uə]/ | ua | fuar "cold" | |
| pronounced as /[ia]/ | eu | beul "mouth" | |
| 2 | pronounced as /[ai]/ | ai | saill "grease", cainnt "speech", aimhreit "riot" |
| pronounced as /[ei]/ | ei | seinn "sing" | |
| pronounced as /[ɤi]/ | oi, ei, ai | loinn "badge", greim "bite", saighdear "soldier" | |
| pronounced as /[ɯi]/ | ui, aoi | druim "back", aoibhneas "joy" | |
| pronounced as /[au]/ | a, ea | cam "crooked", ceann "head" | |
| pronounced as /[ɔu]/ | o | tom "mound", donn "brown" |
For more detailed explanations of Gaelic diphthongs see Scottish Gaelic orthography.
The following diphthongs are used in the Standard Written Form of Cornish. Each diphthong is given with its Revived Middle Cornish (RMC) and Revived Late Cornish (RLC) pronunciation.
| Graph | RMC | RLC | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| aw | pronounced as /[aʊ]/ | pronounced as /[æʊ]/ | glaw "rain" | |
| ay | pronounced as /[aɪ]/ | pronounced as /[əɪ]/ | bay "kiss" | |
| ew | pronounced as /[ɛʊ]/ | blew "hair" | ||
| ey | pronounced as /[ɛɪ]/ | pronounced as /[əɪ]/ | bleydh "wolf" | |
| iw | pronounced as /[iʊ]/ | pronounced as /[ɪʊ]/ | liw "colour" | |
| ow | pronounced as /[ɔʊ]/ | lowen "happy" | ||
| oy | pronounced as /[ɔɪ]/ | moy "more" | ||
| uw | pronounced as /[yʊ]/ | pronounced as /[ɪʊ]/ | duw "god" | |
| yw | pronounced as /[ɪʊ]/ | pronounced as /[ɛʊ]/ | byw "alive" | |
Welsh is traditionally divided into Northern and Southern dialects. In the north, some diphthongs may be short or long according to regular vowel length rules but in the south they are always short (see Welsh phonology). Southern dialects tend to simplify diphthongs in speech (e.g. Welsh: gwaith pronounced as //ɡwaiθ// is reduced to pronounced as //ɡwaːθ//).
| Grapheme | North | South | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| ae | pronounced as //ɑːɨ// | pronounced as //ai// | maen 'stone' |
| ai | pronounced as //ai// | gwaith 'work' | |
| au† | pronounced as //aɨ// | haul 'sun' | |
| aw | pronounced as //au, ɑːu// | pronounced as //au// | mawr 'big' |
| ei | pronounced as //əi// | pronounced as //əi// | gweithio 'to work' |
| eu | pronounced as //əɨ// | treulio 'spend' | |
| ey | teyrn 'tyrant' | ||
| ew | pronounced as //ɛu, eːu// | pronounced as //ɛu// | tew 'fat' |
| oe | pronounced as //ɔɨ, ɔːɨ// | pronounced as //ɔi// | moel 'bald' |
| ou | cyffrous 'excited' | ||
| oi | pronounced as //ɔi// | troi 'turn' | |
| ow | pronounced as //ɔu, oːu// | pronounced as //ɔu// | brown 'brown' |
| wy | pronounced as //ʊɨ, uːɨ// | pronounced as //ʊi// | pwyll 'sense' |
| iw | pronounced as //ɪu// | pronounced as //ɪu// | lliw 'colour' |
| uw | pronounced as //ɨu// | duw 'god' | |
| yw | llyw 'rudder' | ||
| pronounced as //əu// | pronounced as //əu// | tywydd 'weather' |
† The plural ending Welsh: -au is reduced to pronounced as //a// in the north and pronounced as //e// in the south, e.g. Welsh: cadau 'battles' is pronounced as //ˈkada// (north) or pronounced as //ˈkade// (south).
There are three diphthongs in Czech:
The vowel groups ia, ie, ii, io, and iu in foreign words are not regarded as diphthongs, they are pronounced with pronounced as //j// between the vowels pronounced as /[ɪja, ɪjɛ, ɪjɪ, ɪjo, ɪju]/.
may be pronounced as a diphthong, but also as pronounced as /[ie]/ in hiatus or separated by a semivowel, pronounced as /[ije]/. For example, in the first line of the national anthem of Croatia, Lijepa naša domovina, ije is pronounced as a diphthong, but in the first line of the national anthem of Montenegro, Oj, svijetla majska zoro, ije is pronounced as two syllables.
Some Serbo-Croatian dialects also have uo, as in kuonj, ruod, uon[26] whereas, in Standard Croatian and Serbian, these words are konj, rod, on.
See main article: Estonian phonology.
All nine vowels can appear as the first component of an Estonian diphthong, but only pronounced as /[ɑ e i o u]/ occur as the second component.
| pronounced as /[ɑe]/ | aed "fence, garden" | pronounced as /[ɑi]/ | lai "wide" | pronounced as /[ɑo]/ | kaotama "to lose" | pronounced as /[ɑu]/ | laud "table" | |||
| pronounced as /[eɑ]/ | teadma "to know" | pronounced as /[ei]/ | leib "bread" | pronounced as /[eo]/ | teostus "accomplishment" | pronounced as /[iu]/ | kiuste "in spite of" | |||
| pronounced as /[oɑ]/ | toa "room" (s. possessive) | pronounced as /[oe]/ | koer "dog" | pronounced as /[oi]/ | toit "food" | |||||
| pronounced as /[ui]/ | kui "when, if" | |||||||||
| pronounced as /[ɤɑ]/ | lõa "tether" (s. possessive) | pronounced as /[ɤe]/ | nõel "needle" | pronounced as /[ɤi]/ | õige "right, correct" | pronounced as /[ɤo]/ | tõotus "promise" | pronounced as /[ɤu]/ | lõug "chin" | |
| pronounced as /[æe]/ | päev "day" | pronounced as /[æi]/ | täis "full" | pronounced as /[æo]/ | näo "face" (s. possessive) | pronounced as /[æu]/ | näuguma "to meow" | |||
| pronounced as /[øe]/ | söed "coals" | pronounced as /[øi]/ | köis "rope" | |||||||
There are additional diphthongs less commonly used, such as pronounced as /[eu]/ in Euroopa (Europe), pronounced as /[øɑ]/ in söandama (to dare), and pronounced as /[æu]/ in näuguma (to mew).
See main article: Finnish phonology. All Finnish diphthongs are falling. Notably, Finnish has true opening diphthongs (e.g. pronounced as //uo//), which are not very common crosslinguistically compared to centering diphthongs (e.g. pronounced as //uə// in English). Vowel combinations across syllables may in practice be pronounced as diphthongs, when an intervening consonant has elided, as in näön pronounced as /[næøn]/ instead of pronounced as /[næ.øn]/ for the genitive of näkö ('sight').
The diphthong system in Northern Sami varies considerably from one dialect to another. The Western Finnmark dialects distinguish four different qualities of opening diphthongs:
In terms of quantity, Northern Sami shows a three-way contrast between long, short and finally stressed diphthongs. The last are distinguished from long and short diphthongs by a markedly long and stressed second component. Diphthong quantity is not indicated in spelling. [27]
Maltese has seven falling diphthongs, though they may be considered VC sequences phonemically.
Rising sequences in Mandarin are usually regarded as a combination of a medial semivowel (pronounced as /[j], [w], or [ɥ]/) plus a vowel, while falling sequences are regarded as one diphthong.
Cantonese has eleven diphthongs.
In addition to vowel nuclei following or preceding pronounced as //j// and pronounced as //w//, Thai has three diphthongs:
In addition to vowel nuclei following or preceding pronounced as //j// and pronounced as //w//, Vietnamese has three diphthongs:
Khmer language has rich vocalics with an extra distinction of long and short register to the vowels and diphthongs.
Zulu has only monophthongs. Y and w are semi-vowels:
Indonesian has four diphthongs which may be located at the beginning, middle or end of a word.[28] They are: