Page 218 - DENG504_LINGUISTICS

Linguistics

Notes ou: our, gourd, bourse. The diphthong can also occur in words where the suffix er is attached
to a base ending in [(j) υ ] fewer, newer, chewer, doer, pursuer.
d. [] ] is a diphthong that has not survived in present-day RP. It used to render the vowel of
words like floor, door, pore, score, shore, coarse, hoarse, oar, course now pronounced []:]. It still
e
does that in various dialects of English, though the general tendency seems to be to
monophthongize such diphthongs. This has been the fate of [ υ c] as well, which in many
variants of English is pronounced []:] in words like poor, sure etc.
B. The diphthongs to [ww ww w]: []w]w ]w]w ]w], [eww ww w]
a. [] is a falling, wide, closing diphthong. It is the diphthong that actually implies the amplest
aw
articulatory movement of the speech organs that shift from the position of an open vowel
which is fairly central (the position varies between cardinal vowels 5 and 4) to a front,
close, lax vowel (not far from the position of cardinal vowel w. Historically, the vowel
originates in [i:], that subsequently lowered to [ew], than centred and lowered again to
finally become [aw]. The diphthong is distributed in all three basic positions: isle [awl], bite
[bawt], cry [kraw]. It can be spelt i as in ice, dime, loci, or y a in dyke, fly, or ie as in die, lie, pie,
or in inflected forms: spies, spied; ye as in dye,fye; ei as in height, either, neither; and,
exceptionally uy in buy, guy. Note also the pronunciation of ay(e) [aw], eye [awl] and aisle
[awl].
b. []w] is a falling, wide, closing diphthong. It starts from a back, mid vowel, situated between
cardinal vowels 6 an 7 and ends in a front, close, lax vowel, somewhere in the vicinity of
cardinal vowel 1. Like the preceding diphthong, it also involves an ample articulatory
movement from a back vowel to the front part of the imaginary vowel chart. It is distributed
in all three basic positions: ointment, boil, toy. It can be spelt either oi: oil, toil or oy: oyster,
Boyle, coy.
c. [ew] is a falling, narrow, closing diphthong. It starts with a front, mid vowel - between cardinal
vowels 2 [e] and 3 [e] - and glides to a higher vowel value, closing. Often the second
element is very short, sometimes even dropped, the diphthong being reduced to a long
vowel monophthong [e:]. In Cockney the diphthong starts with a lower and central vowel,
being pronounced [• 1]: late [l• 1t], say [s• 1], ‘day [d• 1]. The diphthong is distributed in all
three basic positions: eight; plate, play. It can be spelt a: ace, lace; ai: aid, maid; ay: aye, clay;
ei: eight, reign, ey: they, grey, ea: break, steak. Exceptionally, there are spellings like gaol
[d¥ewl], bass [bews], gauge [gewd¥], halfpenny [hewpnw]. The diphthong also occurs in a small
number of French loan words ending in et or é ballet, bouquet, chalet, café, fiancé, attaché,
resumé.
C. The diphthongs to [ υ ]. There are two diphthongs in RP ending in a glide to [ υ ]: [c υ ] and [aw].
a. [c υ ] is the counterpart of [ew] in the back area of the vowel chart. The diphthong starts
with a central mid vowel and glides to a back close one. It is a falling, narrow, closing
diphthong. It is distributed in all three basic positions: old, gold, flow. It has various spellings:
o: old, sold, no; oa: oak, roast, oe: toe, ow: own, known, row; ou: poultry, dough; eau: beau,
bureau, and, exceptionally, au: gauche; oo: brooch; ew: sew; oh: oh.
b. [a υ ] is a falling, wide, closing diphthong. It starts as an open, fairly front vowel (in the
vicinity of cardinal vowel 4) and glides towards [ υ ] It is distributed in all three basic
positions: ouch, loud, bough. It can be spelt by ou: oust, doubt, plough, or ow: owl, howl, how
and, exceptionally eo in MacLeod.
Here are the English complex vowels (diphthongs) distributed contrastively in the same context:
(a) centring diphthongs: beer [bwc], bear [be ], boor [b υ ], boar [b] ] e
e
e
b) diphthongs to [w]: buy [baw], boy [b]w], bay [bew]
c) diphthongs to [ υ ]: bow, beau [bc υ ], bow, bough [ba υ ]

212 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY