Page 16 - DENG401_Advance Communication Skills

Unit 1: Simple Rule for Pronunciation & Intonation

The 'oh' as in 'no' diphthong. The first sound of this diphthong does not occur on its own as a Notes
vowel in American English, o, o, oh. You can see the lips have a rounded position, o, oh. The
tongue raises up a bit in the back towards the soft palate. In general, the tongue raises some and
shifts back a bit, o, o. This means the tip of the tongue, pulled slightly back, is not touching
anything. Oh, you can see that tighter circle. The back part of the tongue will stretch even
further towards the soft palate in the second half of this diphthong. The tip of the tongue,
usually touching behind the bottom front teeth for the 'uh' as in 'pull' vowel, may be slightly
further back because it was further back in the first half of the diphthong.

[ ] ... 'oy' as in 'toy'

To make this sound, the tongue will come forward and the tip will touch lightly behind the
bottom front teeth. The mid part of the tongue will raise towards the roof of the mouth, oy, oy.
And you can see the corners of the lips will pull out of the circle, oy, oy, and back. Here are the
two sounds of this diphthong. You can see in the first sound that the lips are rounded, and in the
second sound that the corners of the lips pull back slightly. Here the two sounds are in profile
with parts of the mouth drawn in. In the first sound the tongue is pulled back, in the second
sound, the front part of the tongue raises towards the roof of the mouth while the tip of the
tongue touches the bottom front teeth.

[ ] ... 'ai' as in 'buy'

The 'ai' as in 'buy' diphthong. The first sound of this diphthong does not occur on its own as a
vowel in American English. A, a, ai. It's similar to the 'aa' as in 'bat' in that the back of the tongue
raises towards the soft palate, but it doesn't raise as high as it does in the 'aa' as in 'bat' vowel,

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