Diphthongs

Diphthongs are a combination of two vowel sounds in the same syllable. They can be characterized as vowels with two components. Diphthongs have two different targets because the tongue moves during their articulation.

Diphthongs can be classified into different types. Common classifications include rising and falling, and also closing, opening and centring. Falling and rising diphthongs do not refer to tongue height. For tongue height the terms closing and opening are used instead.

Falling diphthongs begin with a vowel of higher prominence than the second. This prominence is realized with higher pitch and volume. The word my contains a falling diphthong.

Rising diphthongs begin with a vowel that is not so prominent and end with a prominent full vowel. The Spanish word tierra (earth) contains a rising diphthong. Though diphthongs are often transcribed as sequences of two vowels, the less prominent component can also be transcribed as an approximant.

The terms closing, opening and centring refer to tongue height. In closing diphthongs, the second component is higher than the first. This is the case with the diphthong of joy. The first component is mid back and the second is high front.

Opening diphthongs are diphthongs in which the second component is lower than the first. In the Spanish word tierra (earth), the diphthong is opening. The first component of the diphthong is high front and the second is mid front.

In centring diphthongs the first component is more peripheral and the second is more central. Non-rhotic varieties of English have centring diphthongs. For example, the words here, there and tour have centring diphthongs in RP.

Diphthongs are very common in the languages of the world. They can be classified into different types such as rising, falling, closing, opening and centring. Diphthongs contast with monophthongs, which consist of a single vowel sound.