Diphthongs

Hi everyone,

After reviewing all the individual vowels, let’s take a deep breathe. Now, the diphthongs are coming. What is a diphthong? It’s a sound that is the subtle combination of two vowel sounds within the same syllable. That means each diphthong consists of two vowel sounds that we learned in the previous lessons. Again and again, I will refer back Rachel’s English (including her video channel) and Mandy’s pronuncian.com podcast. Now, we’re going to learn about 6 sounds and because it can be a lot to absorb, I suggest you break it into 3 parts.

Before beginning to jump deeper into the topic, I’d like to repeat some important issues to know: Long vowels are NOT consequently longer than short vowels. It’s only the name that has been used for them for ages. In American English, nowadays the difference between these similar sounds is mostly based on other factors, such as whether your lips/tongue are tense or relaxed. If you don’t know what this means, don’t be afraid. Watch the videos and visit the websites that I recommend to you and do some practice.

Both Rachel’s and Mandy’s materials are great. If you learn from them simultaneously, it’ll be helpful for you. Even though they use different systems to name or indicate the sounds, they’re speaking about the same sounds. This difference doesn’t modify their main message.

However, I have to add that their different reference systems make it a little difficult to refer to their materials. I decided to use three systems when I speak about one specific sound. How? Let's see:

1.    /eɪ/ (Long A – AY) sound

Rachel’s lesson:  

Sample words: maybe, play, neighbor. Sample sentence: I was afraid if I stayed late that I'd be tired today. 

 
These are the possible spelling patterns based on Mandy’s lesson.

* ai and a_e spellings with the letter r

When the ai spelling is followed by the letter r or the consonant of the a_e spelling is the letter r (as in the words stair and care), the sound is more likely to be pronounced as the air sound instead of the long a sound followed by the r sound.

** -ate suffix
Only verbs using the -ate suffix are pronounced with a long a sound, otherwise the short i pronunciation is more common (as in the words delicate and unfortunate).

 I recommend you watch Mandy’s introduction to Long vowel sounds as well.

2.    /ɑɪ/ (Long I – AI) sound

Rachel’s lesson: 

Sample words: shy, write, good-bye. Sample sentence: My sister is bright with a nice sense of style.

These are the possible spelling patterns based on Mandy’s lesson. 

* ie spelling

Along with the long e and long i pronunciation, the ie spelling is occasionally pronounced as two adjacent vowel sounds, such as the words quiet, alien, and science. Consult a dictionary to be certain of the pronunciation of unfamiliar words spelled using ie.

3.    /oʊ/ (Long O – OH) sound

Rachel’s lesson: 

Sample words: lonely, owner, telephone. Sample sentence: The window of the hotel was blown out and broken.

These are the possible spelling patterns based on Mandy’s lesson.

OOPS!!! I'm sorry. -oe- is NON PHONETIC. 

* o_e, oa, and o spellings with the letter r
When the common long o spellings are followed by the letter r or the consonant of the o_e spelling is the letter r (as in the words for, soar and more), the sound is more likely to be pronounced as the or sound instead of the long o sound followed by the r sound. If the or spelling occurs on an unstressed syllable (as in the words honor and factor), a schwa+r pronunciation is also possible.

4.    /ju/ (Long U - EW) sound

Rachel’s lesson: 

Sample words: view, use, music. Sample sentence: You are one of few pupils writing beautiful poetry. - See more at: http://www.rachelsenglish.com/videos/ew-few-diphthong-ju#sthash.WbACGKyo.dpuf

In this video, Rachel explains how to pronounce the word beautiful, that consist of an EW sound.

These are the possible spelling patterns based on Mandy’s lesson. 

* A long u spelling is generally pronounced as a long u (not an oo sound) sound when it comes after the following consonant sounds:m, k, f, b, v, and h sounds. Following other consonant sounds, these spellings are more likely to be pronounced as the oo sound.

** ue spelling
The -ue spelling is usually silent when it occurs at the end of a word and follows the letters g, ng, or q (examples include the words fatigue, tongue, and unique). An exception is the word argue, which ends in a long u sound.

5.    /ɔɪ/ (OI – OI sound)

Rachel’s lesson: 

Sample words: avoid, point, enjoyable.Sample sentence. The boy is annoying, but a loyal employee.

 These are the possible spelling patterns based on Mandy’s lesson.

* lawyer
The word lawyer can be pronounced with either the oi sound or the aw sound followed by a y sound.

6.    /aʊ/ (OW-OW) sound

Rachel’s lesson: 

Sample words: cow, bow, sound. Sample sentence: I found my flowers dead and brown when I came back to town. 

These are the possible spelling patterns based on Mandy’s lesson.

If you think that’s enough, it’s so complicated, you’re right. Unfortunately, I can’t tell you that all our lessons are finished, as we have one long lesson left. But be patient, these are important issues if you want to speak with the nice American accent.

Kate checked this post again. She is searching new students again on her ITALKI profile. Her lessons are awesome and enjoyable. 

Bye bye,

Attila